Stephen K. Jones SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Stephen K. Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick and 12-year resident of Kendall Park, has been named the Humanitarian Honoree for a massive fundraising event benefiting Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
The 8th annual “Musical Moments for MS,” hosted by the National MS Society will have several honorees as well as performances from Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at the NJ Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Nov. 4 in Newark.
Jones is being honored along with Suhayl S. Dhib-Jalbut, M.D., chair of the Department of Neurology and director at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) – Robert Wood Johnson Center for MS.
“I’m excited The Multiple Sclerosis Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are being recognized,” said Jones.
Jones said the relationship between the Medical School and University Hospital has brought about many success stories for the hospital. Their good relationship helped secure the MS Center through a partnership.
“I’m really proud of our relationship,” he said. “They’ve developed the new MS Center over last five years, it’s a new resource that was not [previously] available in our community [and] we’re really excited they could add [it].”
The Musical Moments annual event, organized by Murray and Lee Kushner, has raised nearly $9 million for MS since its establishment and the Kushner’s hope to raise another $1 million this year.
“It’s very exciting to work with the Kushner’s on their passion of MS because that’s also a passion of mine,” said Jones. “They’ve served the community for years, raised millions of dollars, and we’re really proud to join the legacy.”
Jones became interested in MS several years ago when he worked with three women who started the national nonprofit Women Against MS (WAMS).
“I had a chance to work with them and learn about their passion and I was hooked,” Jones said. “I developed the passion.”
He worked with Judy Hoffman, Linda Greenfield and Arline Schwartzman who raised $85,000 for MS after only one year of establishing WAMS.
“They worked really hard to bring [the organization] out into the community and fight against MS in our community,” he said.
Jones has been President and C.E.O. of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital since 2007 and previously served as senior vice president of operations at the hospital since 1983. He also served as assistant director at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville and assistant director at Barnert Memorial Hospital Center in Paterson.
Jones is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Hospital Association and the Board of Directors of University HealthSystem Consortium. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is past President of both the Senior Healthcare Executives Society of New Jersey and the Assistant Hospital Directors Association of New Jersey. Jones attained a degree in finance from the University of Maryland and a Master of Arts in Health Care Administration from George Washing University in 1976. He has a faculty appointment at the Rutgers University’s Bloustein School undergraduate Public Health Program and a faculty appointment at the UMDNJ.
He is also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Jones became interested in hospital administration as a young volunteer.
“I was on the Plainfield Rescue Squad and loved going into the hospital,” he said. “I went to the hospital and talked to the administration and learned about the business of hospital administration.”
Jones said there have been many challenges and rewards as a C.E.O of a nationally
distin- guished hospital but one of the greatest challenges is ensuring the hospital’s services continue to expand to benefit people on a national and international level as well as a local community level.
“Expanding health care services to the community is very important to us and in this tough economic time that’s a challenge,” Jones said. “As a nationally distinguished hospital we get people from all countries and states so it’s very important to support patients in our community [and] expand services in Central Jersey.”
Jones said one of the greatest rewards as C.E.O. of the hospital is witnessing the improvement and expansion of the quality of care for patients.
“Being able to see the quality of care improve in our community and establishing new programs is my greatest success,” he said. “We have new programs in cardiovascular wellness and cancer care and we’re listed by U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s top hospitals, so that is a great achievement by our medical staff.”
The hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for heart and heart surgery, cancer and respiratory disorders, and for overall excellence according to Jones. It was also the first hospital in the nation to implant the AbioCor self-contained artificial heart, approved by the FDA in 2006, and is one of only three places in the nation approved to offer the technology. The 600-bed University Hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and has earned national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety.
MS is a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system, including the spinal cord, brain, and optic nerves. The symptoms may be mild or as severe as paralysis and the progress and severity is unpredictable and varies from person to person.
“In this challenging economic time it’s very important for volunteers to support their community and Musical Moments for MS is an opportunity for the community to come together and do something good for people who have this disease,” said Jones.
Musical Moments for MS will be held on Nov 4 at NJPAC. The VIP reception begins at 6 p.m. and concert at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $500 a piece and several sponsorship packages are available. For sponsorship tickets, contact 908-781-8418 or [email protected].
For Box Office tickets visit www.njpac.org or call 1-888-GO-NJPAC.
For more information on MS visit www.nationalMSsociety.org/NJM or call Gina Murdoch of the New Jersey Metro Chapter of the National MS Society at 732.660.1005.
Contact Jennifer Booton at