The former president of Jersey Shore University Medical Center and now Executive Vice President of Meridian Health, on how to build dynamic synergy between the mission of healthcare and the bottom line

by Laura D.C. Kolnoski • Photos By Amessé Photography

Since 1904, Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC), part of the Meridian Health System, has continually evolved and expanded. At the forefront of advanced, comprehensive care and treatment in New Jersey, it is now on the cusp of another progressive transformation: the facility is commencing creation of a new “East Campus,” expected to be completed in 2017, with a diagnostic and treatment building, clinical academic center, support space for the regional medical school, outpatient service areas, additional parking, and a dedicated Meridian Cancer Care center.

To make way for the East Campus, the 50-unit John Knox Senior Housing Complex on hospital grounds must be razed. For the past ten years, however, JSUMC has been working with local authorities to create a $13 million modern, larger, accessible apartment community for the residents within walking distance. When the 50 new homes (funded by JSUMC) are ready in early 2015, the seniors will be relocated by the hospital to the garden-style, gated enclave, complete with marble and granite accents, a clubhouse, and other amenities near the Neptune Senior Center.

Inside the medical center, evolution has brought a new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, expansion of the Neo-natal ICU from 21 to 34 beds, and investments in critical care, including a new cardiac ICU. The goal is to provide every resident of Monmouth and Ocean Counties with advanced emergency and other healthcare within 20 minutes of their homes.

Steven G. Littleson, who was president of JSUMC for 17 years, was appointed Executive Vice President of Meridian Health in 2014. In his new position, he will focus on operations for Meridian’s six hospitals along with system-wide initiatives and functions. His successor will take over in January.

Meridian Health includes JSUMC and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel, and Meridian Partner Companies—with home health services, nursing and rehabilitation centers, ambulatory care, ambulance services, and outpatient centers. Rated among the top performing health systems in New Jersey, Meridian Health, with 12,000 “team members” and $1.7 billion in annual revenue, is one of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” and has received state and national recognition for excellence.

The hospital’s emergency services are considered top notch. Two helicopters land on the roof, one belonging to the Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Corporation (MONOC) the other used by the state police. Its Trauma Unit, which sees some 2,000 patients annually, includes seven full-time trained surgeons. It is staffed 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year.

“They literally sleep here,” Littleson said. “The unit’s advanced technology includes $2 million imaging equipment for neurosurgeons to go into the brain and identify clots. Our reputation for advanced care dates to the late 1980s, when John Lloyd (president of Meridian Health, and profiled in the Sept/Oct 2013 issue) was CEO [of JSUMC] and began to develop those services at a time when there weren’t such facilities along the shore. Now, children, stroke victims, and cardiac patients are air-lifted here because we are a high-level place offering comprehensive services beyond trauma. We can serve patients no matter what they need.”

With all the affiliate facilities under one umbrella organization, Little son pointed out that quality and coordination of care has improved. Employees work as a team to provide the best outcomes, which are measured, as he put it, “so we can constantly raise the bar.”

“By reducing duplication, we’ve been able to bend the cost curve and make care more affordable,” he said. “Before, most people traveled to Philadelphia and New York for children’s hospital services. Now, we have over 100 pediatric specialists on staff, and parents don’t have to drive so far. Less than ten percent of child patients in New Jersey go out of state now. That’s the future role of [JSUMC] in the Meridian system.” The hospital is also designated as the region’s comprehensive stroke and cancer center.

Completed in 2009, the $300 million “Transforming Care” expansion and renovation project’s 400,000 square feet of new space added 108 beds, a new emergency department, six operating rooms, support space, a 950-space parking garage, and a central utility plant with cogeneration. The project was certified as a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold healthcare facility, meeting “best in class” criteria.

Raised in upstate New York, Littleson wanted to be a hospital administrator since high school.

“At 17, I spent three months in traction in a hospital following a car accident, which strengthened my interest in medicine and hospitals,” he said. “I became an EMT and a fireman.” His father, an accountant, wanted his son to become a banker. Interested in business, Littleson combined the two—while pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Pennsylvania’s Gettysburg College, he interned at Gettysburg hospital. His supervisors there had attended George Washington University, so he went there too, earning a Masters of Health Services Administration.

Before becoming President of JSUMC in 1998, Littleson was President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Ocean County Hospital in Manahawkin and Vice President at Sentara Hampton General Hospital in Virginia. A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, he serves on the Boards of Directors for the New Jersey Hospital Association and the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals.

“Steve has done a truly amazing job as President of Jersey Shore University Medical Center,” John Lloyd said. “During his tenure, [JSUMC] became a university affiliate of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, completed a $300 million project, and became a state designated children’s hospital.”

Watching his dad enjoy a second career in teaching that included Clemson University in North Carolina, Littleson’s “second act” goal also became teaching. At Monmouth University in West Long Branch, he teaches healthcare policy and hospital management, and has been invited to China three times to speak to hospital executives and teach ways of improving and growing their healthcare businesses.

“I enjoy having the opportunity to share what I know and interact with students who really want to learn,” he said. “[JSUMC] has always been a teaching hospital. The culture here is one of a learning organization. In China, there are more free enterprise and entrepreneurial opportunities now, encouraged by the government. Chinese executives are soaking up the way U.S. hospitals are run. We learn from each other.” (Some of Littleson’s Chinese students are scheduled to visit New Jersey before the end of the year.)

He is currently working toward a doctorate in business administration at the online Waldon University. “That’s a marathon I have only just begun,” he said wryly. “I take it one paper at a time.” He and wife Debra live in Fair Haven with their two daughters, Amy and Jacqueline.

Littleson has also served on the boards of the Boy Scouts of America, United Way, Rotary International, American Red Cross, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. A certified youth lacrosse coach, he has served for ten years as the President of the Fair Haven Recreation Soccer Association.

“I’ve been blessed to be here as long as I have,” he said, noting that last year saw a record 30 percent turnover of CEOs in the United States. “I feel fortunate to have been able to live the career I always wanted. What I like best is the sense of purpose to what gets gone here every day. I meet all new team members on the first day of orientation and tell them my job is to run a business, but it’s a hospital, too, which makes it so unique. There is a mission to what we do, and everyone does it very well. That makes my job easier and more satisfying. All I need to do is walk up one flight of steps to be reminded about what we do, because that’s where pediatrics is.”

Steven G. Littleson, FACHE
1945 Route 33, Neptune / 732.775.5500 / meridianhealth.com