{"id":174833,"date":"2025-12-08T23:22:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T23:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/174833\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T23:22:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T23:22:10","slug":"n-j-health-network-to-provide-medical-services-for-fifa-world-cup-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/174833\/","title":{"rendered":"N.J. health network to provide medical services for FIFA World Cup matches"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Jersey\u2019s largest hospital network will be in charge of providing medical services for the biggest sporting event in the world.<\/p>\n

Hackensack Meridian Health announced Monday that it will serve as the official hometown hospital of the New Jersey-New York FIFA World Cup 2026 Host Committee. As part of the partnership, Hackensack Meridian will provide medical support for soccer matches and for the millions of visitors expected to be in the state for next year\u2019s World Cup events. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis partnership is about so much more than soccer. It\u2019s about building a healthier future,\u201d Hackensack Meridian CEO Robert C. Garrett said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom providing elite medical readiness for the event, and experience-based advice on combating human trafficking, to creating new spaces for our children to play and learn healthy habits, we are proud to help our region shine on the world stage and leave a meaningful impact that will last for years to come,\u201d said Garrett, a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.<\/p>\n

New Jersey-New York was one of several host cities selected last year by FIFA for the World Cup games in June and July 2026. Eight matches will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: The inside story of how N.J. landed the World Cup final, the globe\u2019s biggest sporting event<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to providing additional medical care for events surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026, Hackensack Meridian will teach regional partners how to spot the signs of human trafficking. <\/p>\n

With millions of soccer fans expected to visit next summer, officials have warned that human traffickers may exploit the situation. Hackensack Meridian, which conducts thousands of screenings each year to identify and aid human trafficking victims, will share its expertise so other host committees and law enforcement agencies can root out bad actors.<\/p>\n

The health network will also fund and develop three permanent \u201cLegacy Fields\u201d throughout New Jersey to promote youth sports as part of its partnership with FIFA. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo deliver a world-class FIFA World Cup 2026, we are working with organizations with deep community roots and unparalleled expertise,\u201d Alex Lasry, CEO of the New Jersey-New York Host Committee, said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cHackensack Meridian Health meets that standard in every way,\u201d Lasry added. \u201dTheir commitment to public health and their proven ability to manage complex medical operations make them indispensable to our mission of delivering a safe, memorable, and impactful tournament for all.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hackensack Meridian Health\u2019s pediatric cancer initiative, Tackle Kids Cancer<\/a>, was also designated Monday as an official charity of the New Jersey-New York FIFA World Cup 2026 Host Committee.<\/p>\n

The program raises funds for the organization\u2019s two children\u2019s hospitals: Joseph M. Sanzari Children\u2019s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, and K. Hovananian Children\u2019s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Jersey\u2019s largest hospital network will be in charge of providing medical services for the biggest sporting event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[163,521,85,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-174833","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}