Overlook Medical Center

History

In the 1960s, doctors experimented with new techniques; in one instance, doctors authorized use of alcoholic beverages to delay the onset of contractions of a pregnant woman.{{cite news | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071129201507/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844408,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = November 29, 2007 | access-date = 2009-10-19 | access-date = 2009-10-19

Description

Overview

Overlook Medical Center is part of Atlantic Health which also runs the Morristown Medical Center. Overlook is located in Summit, NJ.

Specialized departments and centers

Overlook has the following departments: Cancer center, Cardiology, Dental surgery, Dermatology, Gastroenterology, Intensive care unit, Internal medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN, Orthopedic services, Pathology, Pediatrics, Physical therapy, Plastic surgery, Psychiatric ward, Radiology, Rehabilitation services, Surgery, Trauma center, and Urology. Notable departments and centers are:

• osteopathic family practice.{{cite news | access-date = 2009-10-19
• the Goryeb Children's Center, which also helps adolescents, is at Overlook.{{cite news | access-date = 2009-10-19
• Valerie Fund Children's Cancer Center.{{cite news | access-date = 2009-10-19
• neonatal intensive care unit and well-baby nursery rotations.
• Neuroscience Institute offers brain tumor and epilepsy programs as well as neurointerventional radiology.
• Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey.
• Walsh Maternity Center-provides maternity and critical care services to high-risk newborns. It offers Calm Birth, an alternative approach to labor that focuses on neuromuscular release and meditation.
• Chest Pain Center.
• same-day surgery Center.
• Hernia Center.
• Wound Care Center.
• Medicare-certified home care and hospice program.
• specialized center for bariatrics.
• Epilepsy Center.
• center for health and eating disorders
• center for sleep medicine.
• heartburn center.
• neuro-interventional radiology program.

Affiliations and partnerships

Overlook has a clinical affiliation with the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

Accreditations

Overlook is accredited by the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Health Care Organizations or JCAHO.

Finances

Overlook Medical Center is non-profit. In 2007, the foundation began a campaign to raise $100 million, according to a director of the Overlook Hospital Foundation. Donations help Overlook "expand from being a local institution to a regional medical center."{{cite news | access-date = 2009-10-19 | access-date = 2009-10-19

Atlantic Health owns an insurance company in the Cayman Islands entitled AHS Insurance Limited whose purpose is to pay claims against its hospitals. The neurosciences research center at Overlook cost $15 million.

Controversies

In the early 1990s, Overlook Hospital was contrasted with the urban hospital of St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center. St. Joseph's had a much greater percentage of charity patients; a reporter wrote: "the bills of patients who have health insurance or who can otherwise pay are marked up 33 percent, the surcharge going to pay for charity care;" in contrast, Overlook, which has a wealthier client base, only had a 6 percent charity markup. As a result, Overlook operated with a surplus while St. Joseph's was cash-strapped. Since Overlook could pay suppliers on time, it qualified for discounts based on the "quantity of its purchases" while the urban hospital had to pay extra charges.

Legal controversies

On June 21, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that AHS Hospital Corp., Atlantic Health System Inc., and Overlook Hospital agreed to pay the United States $8,999,999 to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by allegedly overbilling Medicare. The settlement is part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative.

The settlement regards allegations that Overlook Hospital, owned and operated by AHS Hospital Corporation, and Atlantic Health Systems Inc., overbilled Medicare for patients who were treated on an inpatient basis when they should have been treated as either observation patients or on an outpatient basis.

The settlement partially resolves a False Claims Act suit filed by former employees of Overlook Hospital in U.S. ex rel. Doe et al. v. AHS Hospital Corp., et al., Civ. No. 08-2042 (D.N.J.).

Rail trail at Overlook

Area residents have proposed a 7.3-mile pedestrian linear park along the main line of the abandoned Rahway Valley Railroad. The rail trail would run eastbound from the medical center on the edge of downtown Summit and head south along the old railbed through Springfield, Union, Kenilworth and ending at the southwest edge of Roselle Park at the Cranford border. A northern portion of the rail trail on the RVRR main line is under construction as the Summit Park Line, with a footbridge over Morris Avenue installed in October 2022. In parallel, advocates have been pushing for immediate development of the portion south of Route 22, running past the Galloping Hill Golf Course through Kenilworth and Roselle Park. The New Jersey Department of Transportation, which owns the railbed, has been working to clear it in anticipation of possible future trail use.

References

References

1. (2009-10-19). "History". Overlook Hospital website.
2. Randy Kennedy. (September 28, 1999). "Memo to Doctors: Cross the River; In New Jersey, a New Land of Plenty for Medical Stars". New York Times.
3. (2009-10-19). "Postdoctoral Study – Training Programs: OPTIK Membership Roster". Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.
4. (2009-10-19). "Overlook Hospital 99 Beauvoir Ave, Summit, NJ 07901". Summit Patch Beta.
5. "Atlantic Health System Awards & Accreditations - Atlantic Health".
6. (2019-02-12). "Overlook Medical Center named to 'America's 100 Best Hospitals'".
7. Fred Snowflack. (May 29, 2009). "Morristown election whirl". Daily Record.
8. Joseph F. Sullivan. (March 22, 1991). "When Patients Pay for Charity to Patients". New York Times.
9. "New Jersey Hospital Pays U.s. $8,999,999 to Settle False Claims Act Allegations". US Department of Justice – June 21, 2012.
10. "RVRR Main Line with landmarks in Union County".
11. "Abandoned Rahway Valley Railroad -Proposed Rails to Trails Route "Flyover" 🚂🚶🏼‍♂️👩‍🦼🚴🏼‍♀️".
12. (October 24, 2022). "Park Line Pedestrian Bridge Officially Installed In Summit".
13. "NJDOT Clearing Out Abandoned Railway Property in Roselle Park; Union County to Apply For a Grant to Convert it into a Trail Through Roselle Park and Kenilworth".
14. "Union County Connects – A County Connected by Trails".
15. Barbara Rybolt. (January 16, 2015). "Summit's own Highline would be 'crown jewel' in city's trail system". Independent Press.