Accolades include Physician of the Year, Nurse of the Year, Public Health Hero, Health Care Executive Hero, Volunteer Hero, and Physical Therapy and Educational Excellence
Grant Hobson, volunteer at Trinitas Regional Medical Center’s Cancer Center, recognized by NJBIZ as 2025 Volunteer of the Year
West Orange, NJ, July 16, 2025 – Two RWJBarnabas Health programs and six dedicated health care team members were recognized by NJBIZ as 2025 Healthcare Heroes, and were honored at a formal event on June 24 at The Palace at Somerset Park.The esteemed NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes list recognizes excellence, promotes innovation and honors the efforts of individuals and organizations making a significant impact on the quality of health care in the state. Honorees from RWJBarnabas Health follow.
- Within one year, Balpreet Grewal-Virk, PhD, Senior Vice President of Community Health, RWJBarnabas Health, built a team of more than 50 Community Health Workers – people in and of communities in Newark, Jersey City, West Orange and New Brunswick – that serve as a critical part of the continuum of care as resources for vulnerable individuals. Community members themselves, these workers are tasked with following up with patients pre- and post-discharge to make sure patients are living in healthy environments, able to attend physician visits, paying utility bills for air conditioning, eating healthy food and taking their medications. To date, RWJBarnabas Health’s team of Community Health Workers have interacted with nearly 100,000 patients. Dr. Grewal-Virk has been honored in the Public Health category.
- Maureen Harding, MSN, BSN, RN is the Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services for RWJBarnabas Health and currently serves as Interim Chief Nursing Officer at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility. She has held various positions as part of the system-wide nursing leadership team, including interim Chief Nursing Officer at facilities undergoing transitions. A strong advocate for collaboration and the standardization of nursing best practices, including recruitment and retention, patient experience, quality, leadership development and succession planning, she frequently unites teams to spearhead initiatives across the system. Ms. Harding is passionate about mentoring and developing future nurse leaders, a focus that continues to elevate patient care throughout RWJBarnabas Health. She has been honored in the Nurse of the Year category.
- Grant Hobson's remarkable dedication and compassion has had a lasting positive impact on both individuals and the community, and earned him honors in the Volunteer of the Year category. For nearly 15 years, he has selflessly served at Trinitas Regional Medical Center's Cancer Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, embodying the hospital's mission with every act of kindness. Grant's daily visits to the Infusion Therapy unit, where he provides comfort and listens to patients' stories, have become a beacon of hope for individuals facing challenging times. His warm and approachable demeanor, paired with his unwavering commitment, has left a profound impact on the lives he touches. When budget cuts halted the meals provided to indigent patients during long infusion sessions, he spearheaded a fundraiser that has, to date, raised nearly $30,000.
- Uzma Hasan, MD, Division Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases; Assistant Professor at RWJ-Rutgers Medical School, was honored in the Physician of the Year category. A nationally recognized expert in pediatric long-COVID, Dr. Hasan opened one of the first pediatric long-COVID clinics in the nation and has participated on national U.S. News & World Report panels on the topic. With a passion for treating children with infectious diseases, Dr. Hasan treats each child as she would her own family member. Key to Dr. Hasan’s success is fostering an environment of collaboration and trust.
- Dr. Rachana Kulkarni, MD, Director of Community Cardiology and the Women’s Heart Health Collaborative, RWJBarnabas Health has been a cardiologist for the past 27 years and is the President and managing partner of Medicor Cardiology, part of the RWJBarnabas Health system, where she also serves as Regional Director of Cardiology. She is the past President of the American Heart Association of New Jersey, and has served as the Chairman of Medicine and Chief of Cardiology at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset. She is also being honored in the Physician of the Year category.
- Alexis LaPietra, DO, FACEP, System Director, Addiction Medicine Emergency & Hospitalist Service Line, RWJBarnabas Health, and Medical Director, RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery, is changing the perception of addiction in New Jersey. She has created several innovative strategic and successful pathways for providers and nurses to identify and treat patients with substance use disorders in the acute care setting. Dr. LaPietra also built and launched a complementary medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) Epic order set, allowing easy access to appropriate medications and interventions for 12 acute care sites, including specialized protocols for maternal health patients across 9 maternity programs serving over 25,0000 patients. She has been honored in the Health Care Professional category.
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset’s Community Health Department garnered recognition in the Education category for offering culturally sensitive outreach programs that tackle important health issues like food insecurity, mental wellness, and physical activity, delivered in both English and Spanish. Of particular focus is their work with chronic diseases – notably diabetes and breast cancer – through two programs: El Poder Sobre la Diabetes, and Senos Sanos, an initiative for awareness and early detection. The department's programs stand as a model of effective, community-centered healthcare education. By addressing both linguistic and cultural needs, the department builds trust while reducing disparities and has empowered the Hispanic community in New Jersey to take proactive steps toward better health and long-term disease prevention.
- The Physical Therapy Department at Children’s Specialized Hospital (CSH), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, was honored in the Physical Therapy category. CSH is the nation’s leading provider of inpatient and outpatient care for children from birth to 21 years of age facing special health challenges. Its Physical Therapy Department serves those in this age group in need of physical therapy related services. Care is provided throughout a number of settings including Inpatient Rehabilitation, Outpatient, Pediatric Long Term Care, Early Intervention and School based services. In 2024, CSH Physical therapists treated over 4500 unique patients from New Jersey, neighboring states and across the country in 14 locations throughout the state.
Contact: Carrie Cristello
Carrie.Cristello@rwjbh.org