Wrapping a “Warm Blanket” Around Patients in a State-of-the-Art Center

In June 2026, RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute unveiled the Melchiorre Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey. The new facility comes equipped with several amenities and “cutting-edge” technologies under one roof, which include 52 examination rooms, 40 private infusion rooms, 7 short-stay treatment spaces, and 6 extended-stay treatment spaces, among other features.

At the opening ceremony, CancerNetwork^® spoke with Steven K. Libutti, MD, FACS, William N. Hait Director of Rutgers Cancer Institute and senior vice president of oncology services for RWJBarnabas Health, about the facility’s creation and how it was designed to wrap “a warm blanket” around patients and support them throughout their cancer care. Additionally, he highlighted the center’s access to novel first-in-human trials and other benefits as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)–designated center.

The Melchiorre Cancer Center’s creation follows the opening of the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in May 2025.²

Transcript:

From an amenities perspective, the whole facility is geared toward wrapping a warm blanket around the patient when they arrive. We have nurse navigators who help guide the patient through their journey of cancer care. We have salons and places where they can be fitted for wigs or prosthetics while they're here.

It's a warm and welcoming facility, but it also has state-of-the-art technology. We have an MRI linear accelerator here, one of only a handful across the US and one of only two in the state of New Jersey, the other being at [Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center] in New Brunswick. We have access to cutting-edge first-in-human clinical trials that are driven by the Rutgers Cancer Institute [and] available to patients right here at Melchiorre. It's essentially an NCI-designated cancer center location that's part of a network of locations that we are placing strategically across the state.

References

1. RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute unveil the Melchiorre Cancer Center, expanding access to world-class cancer care in New Jersey. RWJBarnabas Health. June 23, 2026. Accessed June 25, 2026. https://tinyurl.com/mpzewv59
2. RWJBarnabas Health, Rutgers Cancer Institute celebrate opening of New Jersey’s first and only freestanding cancer hospital. Rutgers Cancer Institute. May 13, 2025. Accessed June 25, 2026. https://tinyurl.com/bdf47yr4