Hackensack Meridian Health Opens New Cancer Pavilion in Hackensack

Hackensack Meridian Health opened a new $180 million cancer pavilion this week, consolidating imaging, infusion, surgical consultation, and radiation oncology services that had previously been spread across several buildings on its Hackensack campus.

The seven-story pavilion is designed around what hospital administrators call a "same-day model," allowing patients to complete imaging, meet with an oncologist, and begin treatment planning in a single visit rather than the multi-week process that has historically been standard for new cancer diagnoses.

"The worst part of a cancer diagnosis is often the waiting between appointments, not just the diagnosis itself," said Hackensack Meridian Health Chief of Oncology Services Dr. Renata Kwan. "This building was designed specifically to compress that timeline, because we know patients are anxious and every week matters."

The pavilion includes 64 private infusion bays, expanded clinical trial space, and a dedicated pediatric oncology wing separate from adult treatment areas. Hospital officials say the facility was funded through a combination of philanthropic donations, bond financing, and state health infrastructure grants tied to expanding cancer care access in northern New Jersey.

Hackensack Meridian says it expects patient volume at the new pavilion to grow steadily over its first two years as referral patterns shift from smaller regional oncology practices that lack comparable infusion and imaging capacity.