Northwell Health recently announced a gift from longtime trustee Roy J. Zuckerberg to create the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Hospital at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center—Long Island’s first cancer hospital—and to establish the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center, Northwell’s largest ambulatory cancer center. Mr. Zuckerberg’s transformative gift will also create an endowed chair in cancer research, helping to recruit top talent in the field and is part of his long-term philanthropy to Northwell.
The R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Hospital and the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center unite cancer care provided at LIJ and across the street at 450 Lakeville Road, a state-of-the-art outpatient facility that offers numerous cancer programs and therapies. The new cancer campus is the flagship of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute, which integrates the health system’s network of nationally recognized hospitals and cancer specialists, so patients across Northwell’s footprint get top care close to home.
New Programs
As part of Mr. Zuckerberg’s gift to advance cancer care, Northwell plans to enhance or create several programs, including dedicated oncology floors so patients will be paired with experienced oncology nurses; a new women’s cancer center focused on treating women with breast and gynecologic cancers; a Center for Genomic Medicine that can perform tumor profiling for all patients; and new technology to treat liver cancer.
The R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Hospital, Northwell’s only cancer hospital, delivers the most complex care available and includes 164 of LIJ’s 583 beds, dedicated to treating patients with various types of cancer including breast, pancreatic, lung, head and neck, colon, urologic, and gynecologic. On any given day, four to six operating rooms are used for open or robotic cancer surgery. The R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Hospital and the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center each offer dedicated navigation programs to guide patients through every step of their cancer journey.
The 150,000-square-foot R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center, Northwell’s largest, includes 64 infusion bays and provides outpatient treatment in the specialties of medical oncology including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and hormone therapy; comprehensive radiation medicine; surgical and neurologic consults; clinical trials; diagnostic imaging; a pharmacy; and support programs for patients with cancer and their loved ones.
A Personal Association
Mr. Zuckerberg, who spent 31 years at Goldman Sachs and was its longest-serving partner before retiring as Vice Chairman in 1998, was first introduced to LIJ in 1972 when he sought treatment for his 3-year-old daughter at the hospital’s hearing and speech center, now the Sandra Atlas Bass Otolaryngology Center. “I’ve had a passion for LIJ since I saw the remarkable care my daughter received there, and it inspired me to get involved in the hospital,” he said.
Mr. Zuckerberg later became a member of LIJ’s Board of Directors and served as the hospital’s Chairman, where he helped lead the historic merger between LIJ and North Shore Health System in 1997. He also served as Chairman of the North Shore–LIJ Health System.
