Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway has opened an orthopedic suite inside the hospital at 865 Stone Street, giving Rahway and the surrounding Union County towns a place to see an orthopedic surgeon without leaving the city. RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group, the physician group of the RWJBarnabas Health system, announced the opening on November 5 and marked it with a ribbon cutting attended by leaders from the hospital, the medical group and the system's orthopedic service line.

Where it is and how to book

The suite is on the first floor of the hospital building, inside RWJUH Rahway at 865 Stone Street. Appointments are booked by phone at 201-716-5850, the same number the health system lists for questions about the practice. The hospital is a short drive from Rahway station on NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast lines.

Who is seeing patients

Three orthopedic surgeons from RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group are seeing patients in the suite, and their specialties split the field in a way that covers most of what brings people to an orthopedist:

  • Todd Alter, MD treats conditions of the hand, wrist and shoulder.
  • Melissa Soderquist, MD focuses on orthopedic trauma and joint replacement.
  • Richard Marchese, MD specializes in adult reconstruction, with a focus on knee and hip replacement.

Between them, that covers upper body care, injuries from falls and accidents, and hip and knee replacement.

What the suite handles

According to the health system, the practice treats common joint and limb conditions, traumatic injuries and problems that may lead to surgery or joint replacement. The model is meant to keep a patient's care in one place: office visits, surgery, a hospital stay if one is needed, and rehabilitation afterward, all coordinated through the same system. Patients also get a route into the wider set of musculoskeletal services RWJBarnabas Health runs across its hospitals in New Jersey.

For a Rahway resident, the practical change is distance. A new hip or a broken wrist used to mean a referral elsewhere; the consultation, the procedure and the follow-up visits can now begin at the hospital on Stone Street.

The hospital behind it

RWJUH Rahway has served Union County and neighboring towns for more than a century. Its services include diagnostic testing, emergency care, surgery, a wound care center, acute care, long-term acute and rehabilitative care, and outpatient programs. It is part of RWJBarnabas Health, which the system describes as the largest academic health system in New Jersey, with 14 hospitals, about 9,000 affiliated physicians and an academic partnership with Rutgers University that includes Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Frank Liporace, MD, who leads the musculoskeletal service line for the system's northern region, framed the opening as a way to put specialists closer to where patients live, for both long-running joint problems and sudden injuries. The hospital's chief administrative officer, Eric Kleinert, said the three surgeons add depth to the orthopedic services the hospital already offers.

Before you call

The announcement does not list office hours, so ask when you call 201-716-5850. Have your insurance information and any recent imaging reports ready; if you already have X-rays or an MRI from another provider, ask whether the office wants the images sent ahead of the first visit. The suite is inside the hospital, so plan to park at RWJUH Rahway and check in on the first floor.

Sources