Healthcare Exec Samantha Kelly Joins Neuroscience Leadership Team

Samantha Kelly, MA, LPC, NCC, has been appointed Executive Director of Atlantic Health System Neuroscience and Atlantic Neuroscience Institute. Kelly will be responsible for aligning neuroscience services with Atlantic Health System’s mission and vision across all Atlantic Health System medical centers, ambulatory satellite centers, and its five comprehensive and primary stroke centers.

In her role, Kelly will be responsible for leading strategic planning initiatives with John Halperin, MD, FAAN, FACP, Medical Director for Atlantic Health System Neuroscience, as well as neuroscience program expansion at Overlook, Morristown, Chilton, Newton and Hackettstown Medical Centers. Kelly will also support quality efforts with physician relations, neuroscience nursing care and corporate services.

“Samantha Kelly brings an impressive background in health care administration, and an array of skills that I know will serve us all well as we navigate New Jersey’s extremely dynamic and evolving health care environment,” said Dr. Halperin. “I’m confident she will help us maintain and exceed the high standards we’ve established at our Institute.”

Kelly comes to Atlantic Health System from Hackensack Meridian Health where she was Corporate Director of Neuroscience Care Transformation Services, where she shaped the strategic plan, led operational and clinical service line integration, and worked closely with physicians and clinical staff.

“I’m confident in Samantha Kelly’s ability to implement our mission and vision across Atlantic Health System as we expand our centers of excellence in stroke, brain tumor and epilepsy,” said Alan Lieber, President, Overlook Medical Center. “Atlantic Health System Neuroscience continues to attract premier talent in neuroscience care and Samantha will lead the charge in bringing our clinical programs and patient care settings to the next level.”

Atlantic Health System Neuroscience has grown dramatically in the past two decades attracting world-class expertise in the neurosciences. Overlook Medical Center brought state-of-the-art technology into its operating rooms and interventional suites for neurosurgery and endovascular procedures that offer modular solutions and enhanced efficiencies. The new suites and technologies have been especially critical as capabilities in the areas of stroke intervention, epilepsy surgery, awake brain surgery and deep brain stimulation have expanded.

In collaboration with the Atlantic Center for Research, neurologists and neurosurgeons are at the forefront of accelerating innovative technologies, treatments and protocols in the specialties of stroke, epilepsy, brain tumor and spine health. Through research and clinical trials, Atlantic Health System Neuroscience has established itself as a leader in the discovery, development and delivery of world-class medicine in brain health.

“I am honored to be selected as the new Executive Director for such a large and expansive neuroscience service in New Jersey,” said Samantha Kelly. “I look forward to continuing to build this premier Neuroscience Institute and expand Atlantic Health System’s neuroscience program.”

Kelly is completely her M.B.A. in Health Systems Management Concentration, from UMass Dartmouth, and has a master’s and post-master’s degree in psychological counseling, both from Monmouth University, and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Scranton.

About Atlantic Health System Neuroscience

Atlantic Health System Neuroscience, anchored at Overlook Medical Center’s Atlantic Neuroscience Institute, with active programs at Morristown, Newton, Chilton and Hackettstown Medical Centers, is the region’s leader in neuroscience care.

Atlantic Health System Neuroscience, working with Atlantic Mobile Health, was the first in the nation to deploy and use portable TeleStroke technology in ambulances for routine pre-hospital assessment of stroke patients. Stroke neurologists at Overlook Medical Center also provide neurological evaluations via TeleStroke devices deployed in emergency departments across six counties. In 2018, out of 2638 stroke patients treated at Atlantic Health System, 795 were evaluated through TeleStroke technology.

Atlantic Health System Neuroscience introduced RAPID™, a new class of automated brain-imaging software, across the system. RAPID™ allows experts to swiftly discern whether a patient has reduced blood flow to the brain and other signs of brain injury. The technology enables them to treat a greater number of patients within the treatment window during which surgery and other therapies can be helpful.

Atlantic Health System’s most complex stroke patients are treated at Overlook Medical Center’s Joint Commission-certified Comprehensive Stroke Center, a designation reserved for approximately 180 hospitals in the United States. Overlook is the only hospital in New York and New Jersey named as one of Healthgrades^® America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care™ for six years in a row (2014-2019).

Overlook Medical Center, with a helipad dedicated to emergency neurological patient transport, as well as a Neuro-ICU and 29-bed neuroscience inpatient unit, has established centers of excellence in the areas of brain tumor, concussion and traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular disease, including stroke and aneurysm, epilepsy, memory and cognitive disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, neuromuscular disease, pain and headache, and spine disorders.

Overlook Medical Center is named by Healthgrades® among the Top 5% in the Nation for both Neurosciences and for Cranial Neurosurgery. CareChex®, a medical quality rating system that reviews hospital clinical quality, patient safety and performance of nearly all acute care hospitals and health systems in the U.S., ranked Overlook Medical Center as number one in New Jersey and Top 100 in the Nation for Medical Excellence and Patient Safety in Major Neurosurgery.