Meridian Health joins "The Baton Pass" to spread message of hope

Meridian Health, a leading health care system in New Jersey, joined a national movement called "The Baton Pass™" to help raise funds for innovative cancer research and spread a message of hope. The event at Meridian Health's Jersey Shore University Medical Center featured a performance by the Struck Boyz, a hip hop dance crew made up of boys aged 8-11 who recently performed on America's Got Talent, a visit from Spider-Man, and a proclamation from Neptune Mayor Dr. Michael Brantley declaring today "Baton Pass Day" in Neptune, NJ. The community also heard from Sandra Doyle Ferullo, a cancer survivor from Farmingdale, NJ, who benefitted from novel treatments thanks to advanced cancer research.

The Baton Pass was launched on Good Morning America on March 19th by Siemens, one of the world's leading engineers of imaging, laboratory diagnostics and healthcare IT solutions, to raise funds for Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C). SU2C is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and supports pioneering cancer research designed to get new therapies to patients quickly. With each pass of the Baton, either physically or virtually through www.facebook.com/TheBatonPass, Siemens will donate one dollar to Stand Up To Cancer, up to one million dollars, through September 5th, 2014. The Baton Pass is a grassroots effort to raise money and spread a message of hope and unity across the country. The Baton has traveled thousands of miles across the U.S. and Canada and has been passed more than 900,000 times.

Guests learned first-hand about Meridian's commitment to providing access to the best, most compassionate cancer care, close to home from Timothy J. Hogan, FACHE, Regional Hospital President, Monmouth County, Meridian Health. Denise Johnson Miller, M.D., Medical Director, Breast Surgery at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, also discussed Meridian's research work with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in sharing the latest treatments and most promising clinical trials.

Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Siemens, and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), who work closely with SU2C to review proposals for Dream Team funding, team members and patients passed the Baton with Spider-Man and the Struck Boyz.

"The Baton Pass was a great celebration of the promise that cancer research holds for millions of people, including Sandra Doyle Ferullo who is cancer-free today because of a therapy developed during a clinical research trial. It was also a great show of community support for research at Meridian Cancer Care, where we are actively conducting more than 100 oncology clinical trials in hopes that there will be more survival stories like Sandra's," said Dr. Johnson Miller.

"The Baton symbolizes the progress we've made in cancer detection, monitoring and treatment, as well as the hope that we all share for continued progress," said Tim Cosgrave, Vice President, Office of the Customer, Siemens Healthcare. "Siemens is proud to align with SU2C and celebrate the work being done at health care systems like Meridian Health."

Source: Meridian Health