Press Release

November 16, 2006
Contact: Anna Farneski
(973) 972-3000
farnesam@umdnj.edu

UMDNJ Board Chair Appoints Committee to Review Cardiology Program

NEWARK — Robert J. Del Tufo, Esq., chairman of the Board of the Trustees of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, today announced the appointment of an ad hoc committee of the Board of Trustees to review the University’s cardiology program.

“I have asked the Committee to pay specific attention to the allegations contained in the Federal Monitor's Report of November 13, 2006 that, commencing in 2002, the University may have engaged cardiologists improperly and in possible violation of federal law,” said Del Tufo, a former U.S. Attorney and former New Jersey Attorney General.

“I have also asked the Committee to assess current practices in this regard and to make whatever remedial recommendations are warranted with respect to those practices and concerning the process by which cardiologists have and will become affiliated with the University.”

The Committee will be composed of Dr. Fred Jacobs, who shall be the chairperson, Dr. Harold Shapiro, Anita Spivey, Esq. and Oliver Quinn, Esq. Assistant Attorney General Sharon Joyce shall serve as counsel to the Committee.

Dr. Fred M. Jacobs, M.D., J.D., is Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. Dr. Jacobs, a member of the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners, is board certified in both internal medicine and pulmonary disease. A graduate of Rutgers University School of Law, Dr. Jacobs is a member of the Bar in New Jersey and Florida.

Dr. Harold Shapiro is President Emeritus and Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Prior to serving as Princeton’s president for 13 years, Dr. Shapiro was on the faculty at and served as President of the University of Michigan, which encompasses an academic health center.

Anita Spivey, Esq., has experience in corporate finance, securities law, environmental and energy matters, as well as public affairs counseling. She has served as in-house counsel for Allied-Signal Inc., General Motors Corporation, and Union Texas Petroleum Corporation. Chair of the Brown University Emeriti Executive Committee, she is chair of the Pembroke Center Associates Council, Vice Chair of Brown University’s Campaign for Academic Enrichment and Trustee of the E. J. Grassmann Trust.

Oliver Quinn, Esq., is Vice President, Enterprise Business Ethics Officer at Prudential Financial. As Vice President for Prudential HealthCare, he developed and directed regulatory compliance programs. Mr. Quinn has held a number of state and federal positions, including Deputy Solicitor of Labor for the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington and Deputy Commissioner of Labor for the State of New Jersey.

“This is a most distinguished, knowledgeable and experienced panel,” said Del Tufo. “I am confident the Committee will provide the oversight and guidance necessary to insure the integrity of the program. Needless to say, the committee report and any other pertinent information will be shared with the Federal Monitor and the U.S. Attorney.”

UMDNJ is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. Last year, there were more than two million patient visits to UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.