PR contact: Rob Seman
973-660-3145EmailSatellite emergency department gets first major renovation in Atlantic Health’s 18 years of operation
UNION, NJ, NOVEMBER 14, 2025 – Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center unveiled its updated emergency department (ED) at the hospital’s Union Campus, capping the completion of extensive renovations to the facility that is greatly relied upon by the community.
In a ceremony joined by local, county and state officials, Atlantic Health leaders marked the completion of the work with a ribbon-cutting and celebrated Overlook Medical Center Emergency Services – Union Campus’s longtime commitment to providing exemplary care to the community for the last 18 years.
“The Emergency Department at our Union Campus stands as a shining example of successful community-based health care,” said Stephanie Schwartz, Senior Vice President, Atlantic Health System and President, Overlook Medical Center. “For almost two decades our commitment to keeping emergency care within Union Township has led to better health for the surrounding communities. We are proud to be the place that people know they can turn to when they need care.”
Once part of the former Union Hospital, the Union Emergency Department was in danger of being permanently shut down in 2007 when the former owners planned to shutter the hospital. Recognizing the important role that the emergency department played in providing convenient, quality care to Union and the surrounding communities, Atlantic Health stepped in that year to take over operations there as a satellite emergency department. At the time, it was a rare model of care in New Jersey that was quickly embraced by members of the community.
Today, the Union Emergency Department receives 36,000 visits each year, with approximately 96 visits per day. In addition to Union and surrounding communities, the ED serves some of the most underserved and vulnerable populations in New Jersey, including Elizabeth, Newark and Irvington.
The emergency department, which includes on-site laboratory and imaging, as well as telestroke capabilities, is staffed by board-certified emergency medicine physicians, registered nurses and a dedicated pharmacist and respiratory therapist. The Union ED has been nationally recognized for care – in 2023, it became the only ED internationally to receive the Emergency Nurses Association’s Lantern Award in five consecutive cycles since the award’s inception in 2011.
“The care at the Union emergency department consistently receives high marks from our patients, and that is a remarkable reflection of the commitment Atlantic Health has made to quality,” said Rajiv Prasad, MD, chair of emergency medicine at Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center.
“Our teams consistently strive to elevate the experience we provide to patients and are proud to continue this tradition of excellence within the community,” said Heather Veltre, DNP, Chief Nursing Officer, Overlook Medical Center.
Atlantic Health did not stop at the emergency department, and in the following years, invested heavily in developing parts of the former hospital into Overlook’s Union Campus – a multi-specialty outpatient center, offering services including primary care, physical therapy, wound care, oncology and surgery.
While improvements and other updates have taken place over the years, the recent work represents the first major upgrade for the emergency department since Atlantic Health’s takeover.
The project, which broke ground in June 2024, involved making $6.4 million in alterations to 80% - more than 10,000 square feet – of the Emergency Department. These changes include adding three additional treatment spaces, taking the emergency department from 20 beds to 23, as well as improved support space to better serve our growing volumes from the surrounding community.
Other changes include:
- Privacy partitions added between bays to allow for enhanced privacy and patient confidentiality
- The main nurse station was redesigned to include a larger central medication room along with extending the counter for more visibility to the open holding bays
- A redesigned lobby with an assessment and triage area
- Expanding the on-site lab that serves the Union ED, including both more space and equipment, making it more efficient to serve increased volumes
- The ED’s patient monitoring system has been fully upgraded to the Phillips Monitoring System
- Unused space in a patient corridor opened up to create alcoves for the nourishment area, equipment alcoves and refreshment area
- Negative exhaust capability added to the private rooms to help manage airborne illness
- The overall space has received a new, updated finish
Overlook worked with Buckl Architects, MPE Consulting & Design LLC and Holt Construction to bring the project to reality.
About Atlantic Health
Atlantic Health is at the forefront of medicine, setting standards for quality health care in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New York metropolitan area. Powered by a workforce of 24,000 team members and more than 7,779 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities, Atlantic Health serves more than half of the state of New Jersey including 14 counties and 7.5 million people.
The not-for-profit system offers more than 550 sites of care, including its eight hospitals: Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, Atlantic Health Newton Medical Center in Newton, NJ, Atlantic Health Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ, Atlantic Health Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ, Atlantic Health Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ, Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute in Madison, NJ and Atlantic Health CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, NJ.
The system includes Atlantic Medical Group, part of a physician enterprise that makes up one of the largest multispecialty practices in New Jersey with more than 1,700 physicians and advance practice providers. Joined with Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners they form part of Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network of more than 2,500 health care providers throughout northern and central NJ.
Atlantic Health provides care for the full continuum of health care needs through 30 urgent care centers, Atlantic Visiting Nurse and Atlantic Health Virtual Visits. Facilitating the connection between these services on both land and air is the transportation fleet of Atlantic Mobile Health.
Founded by Atlantic Health, the Healthcare Transformation Consortium is a partnership of seven regional hospitals and health systems dedicated to improving access and affordability. Atlantic Health has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University, is home to the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers and is the official health care partner of the New York Jets.