Autumn Years Summer 2024

The night of The Valley Hospital Ball from right to left are Scott Agins, D.P.M.; Audrey Meyers; daughters Mara Agins and Jenna Agins, and Jenna’s husband Toku Shimoyama, standing in front of the Stephan Knapp signature panels–Audrey and Scott’s gift to Valley’s Capital Campaign to support the new hospital.

was prominently displayed for decades on the exterior of the Alexander’s Department Store in Paramus before the store closed. It became one of the town’s most well-known landmarks. When the store was taken down in 1998, the panels were saved and placed in storage where they remained for the past 25 years. Twenty-four of the panels are now proudly displayed in the gardens at The Valley Hospital in Paramus. Additionally, a display of the panels that feature Knapp’s signature, which have been donated by Audrey and Scott, are located inside the hospital’s conference center. On the table near the mock-ups are rolled-up architectural renderings

for the new hospital, plans now realized after more than twenty years. The journey to this goal was not always easy—the original plans for the Ridgewood Campus met with objections from the immediate neighbors who did not want to live with a long-term construction project. However, as with any challenging situation, creative solutions emerged. As Valley’s leader, Audrey conceived and led the plan to develop a health and wellness campus that included the Robert and Audrey Luckow Pavilion, home to Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care and the Jaqua Same-Day Surgery Center; a Medical Arts Building located at 140 East Ridgewood Avenue;

and a new, state-of-the-art hospital. Over a period of years, Valley was able to assemble 40-acres of property and implement the vision. When asked about what makes the new Paramus hospital unique in comparison to others, Audrey referred to the use of technology. “We researched and acquired every available technology that would facilitate the highest level of patient care and service,” she says. That means this “smart hospital” uses leading-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, smart beds and real-time location systems. One system uses artificial intelligence to alert the nursing staff of a patient’s likelihood to fall, potentially preventing that fall from happening. Some of those measures were put into place after what was learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have multiple buildings and services – for some that will be great because we will be able to bring them back to the Ridgewood campus.”

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SUMMER 2024 I AUTUMN YEARS