Bonita Stanton, founding dean of Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, dies at 70

Dr. Bonita Stanton, founding dean of the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and a pediatrician whose approach to medical education was shaped by her work in the slums of Bangladesh, died Wednesday. She was 70.

The cause was “a sudden and unexpected illness,” a statement from the Hackensack Meridian Health system said. It was not COVID, a spokesman said.

Stanton arrived in New Jersey in 2016 with an invitation to create a medical school that would change the way physicians are educated. In two years, she helped recruit its leaders and faculty, gain the institution its accreditation and devise its curriculum. The school welcomed its first students in 2018, and some of them graduated last year through its innovative option to complete coursework in three years. 

After her experience working with mothers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to prevent and treat diarrheal illness in children, Stanton believed that a focus on the social determinants of health — such as access to safe housing, nutritious food and opportunities for exercise — would also improve the health outcomes of patients in the United States, while lowering health care costs.

That vision guided her approach to medical education. As part of the medical school’s curriculum, students embed with families in the community to learn about the environmental and personal factors affecting their health and help them to navigate and advocate for themselves in the health care and social service bureaucracies they encounter.

The launch of the medical school in Nutley, the first in the state in 50 years, capped a career that included academic positions at the University of Maryland, West Virginia University and Wayne State University in Detroit.

The latest:NJ COVID hospitalizations drop below 5K as Murphy hints at lifting school mask mandate

Health:New cancer treatment options in Passaic County from health system partnership

A prolific researcher, Stanton received continuous research funding from the National Institutes of Health as a principal investigator from 1991 to 2016. Her work in the developing world, funded by the World Bank, helped shape new approaches to economic development that focused on maternal and child health and education. She also edited several pediatric textbooks and wrote two children’s books. Two months ago, she completed a half-marathon.

A Connecticut native, Stanton was a graduate of Wellesley College and the Yale School of Medicine. She was married to Dr. John D. Clemens for 30 years. Survivors include her two daughters and four grandchildren.

“The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Hackensack Meridian Health, and all of us who knew her and worked closely with her will honor Dean Stanton’s memory by continuing to build on her exceptional legacy,” said Robert Garrett, Hackensack Meridian Health’s CEO.

Funeral services will be private. The family has asked that memorial contributions be made to the Bonita F. Stanton, M.D., Scholarship Fund.

Lindy Washburn is a senior health care reporter for NorthJersey.com. To keep up-to-date about how changes in health care affect you and your family, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: washburn@northjersey.com 

Twitter: @lindywa