Capital Health: Hospitals, Specialties, and Patient Services in NJ

Capital Health is a leading integrated health system serving central New Jersey and surrounding areas, with two full-service hospitals, a dedicated outpatient facility, a satellite emergency department, and a broad network of primary and specialty care practices. The system operates Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton and Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell, alongside Capital Health Hamilton, Capital Health at Deborah Emergency Services, and Capital Health Medical Group practices across Mercer County and beyond. Accredited by DNV and recognized five times for nursing excellence through the Magnet program, Capital Health functions as the region’s primary academic and trauma medicine resource.

Overview of Capital Health System

Capital Health is central New Jersey’s most comprehensive health system, combining Level II trauma care, a state-designated comprehensive stroke center, a Level III NICU, and five-time Magnet nursing recognition under one integrated regional network.

Capital Health’s two-hospital model positions it to serve both complex emergency cases and routine outpatient needs across Mercer County and adjacent regions of Somerset, Hunterdon, Burlington, Middlesex, and parts of Pennsylvania. The system’s investments in specialty institutes, robotic surgery, oncology research access, and neurosciences technology make it a regional referral destination for conditions requiring advanced care unavailable at smaller community hospitals. Capital Health Medical Group extends the system’s reach through primary care and specialist practices distributed across numerous office locations, giving patients consistent access to employed physicians within a single coordinated care framework.

Capital Health Regional Medical Center – Trenton

Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton is the system’s flagship acute care campus, housing the region’s Level II trauma center, a state-designated comprehensive stroke center, and Mercer County’s Emergency Mental Health Services Center.

The Regional Medical Center at 750 Brunswick Avenue has served the Trenton community for generations and operates as a regional academic medical center affiliated with the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. As one of only 10 state-designated trauma centers in New Jersey, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Trauma Center manages severely injured patients transferred from across Mercer, Somerset, Hunterdon, Burlington, and Middlesex counties. The Capital Institute for Neurosciences accepts emergency neurological and neurosurgical transfers for complex cases that exceed the capabilities of other area hospitals, with 24/7 coverage for stroke and cerebrovascular emergencies backed by inpatient neurosciences units for both intensive and intermediate care. Additional services at this campus include inpatient and outpatient radiology, renal dialysis, behavioral health, cardiology, palliative care, sleep medicine, rehabilitation services, and the region’s first Pediatric Emergency Department. According to The Joint Commission, comprehensive stroke center certification requires hospitals to demonstrate consistently high performance across stroke prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and outcome reporting, a standard Capital Health meets through its neurosciences program.

Key Services at Capital Health Regional Medical Center

• Level II Trauma Center: Bristol-Myers Squibb Trauma Center, regional referral for severe injuries across five counties
• Comprehensive Stroke Center: State-designated, 24/7 coverage, part of the Capital Institute for Neurosciences
• Emergency Mental Health Services: Mercer County’s designated psychiatric emergency screening center
• Pediatric Emergency Department: Region’s first and most experienced pediatric ED, including New Jersey’s first Autism-Friendly Pediatric Emergency Department
• Cardiology: Including cardiac electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, and a chest pain center
• Radiology: MRI, interventional radiology, and full inpatient and outpatient diagnostic imaging
• Rehabilitation Services: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, and specialty rehabilitation programs
• Renal Dialysis: On-site hemodialysis services for inpatient and outpatient kidney disease management

Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell

Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell is the system’s newer campus, recognized by U.S. News and World Report as a High Performing Hospital for Maternity Care and designated Baby-Friendly for its commitment to breastfeeding and newborn wellness.

The Hopewell facility serves as the primary destination for maternity services within the Capital Health system, housing a regional perinatal center and a Level III NICU capable of supporting premature and critically ill newborns. The campus also holds a Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI designation from the American College of Cardiology and offers a full portfolio of surgical, oncological, orthopedic, and diagnostic services. The Leapfrog Group awarded Capital Health Medical Center Hopewell an “A” Hospital Safety Grade for patient safety performance. Its Baby-Friendly designation, granted through Baby-Friendly USA, reflects adherence to WHO and UNICEF evidence-based standards for maternity and newborn care that emphasize skin-to-skin contact, lactation support, and rooming-in practices.

Specialty Institutes and Clinical Programs

Capital Health’s specialty institute model concentrates advanced clinical expertise, technology, and research into dedicated programs that serve patients from across the region and beyond.

The Capital Institute for Neurosciences operates across both hospital campuses and manages complex neurological and neurosurgical conditions, supporting the comprehensive stroke center and offering access to the latest in neurovascular research and treatment. The Heart and Vascular Institute houses the region’s first accredited Chest Pain Center, a Cardiac Electrophysiology Program that recently added a pulsed field ablation system for atrial fibrillation, and a Cardiac Rehabilitation program. The Capital Health Cancer Center holds Commission on Cancer accreditation, NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) participation, National Pancreas Foundation Center designation, and CyberKnife radiosurgery capability. The Center for Comprehensive Breast Care carries national accreditation from the American College of Surgeons National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. The Marjorie G. Ernest Joint Replacement Center of Excellence manages hip and knee replacement surgery under a dedicated orthopedic service line. Additional institutes address digestive health, bariatric surgery, lung disease, maternal fetal medicine, hepatology, diabetes education, and behavioral health.

Awards, Accreditations, and Quality Recognition

Capital Health has earned an extensive portfolio of national and state-level quality recognitions spanning surgical excellence, cardiac care, stroke treatment, cancer services, and nursing performance.

The Surgical Review Corporation has designated Capital Health as a Center of Excellence across five surgical categories: robotic surgery, minimally invasive surgery, minimally invasive gynecology, colorectal surgery, and hernia surgery. The American College of Cardiology awarded Capital Health its NCDR Chest Pain MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2025, placing it among the nation’s top-performing hospitals for heart attack treatment. The American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines program recognized Capital Health with a 2025 Gold Plus Stroke Quality Achievement Award. Capital Health Regional Medical Center ranked first in New Jersey for racial inclusivity in the Lown Institute Hospitals Index. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation designated Capital Health an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality High Performer. The College of American Pathologists accredits Capital Health’s laboratory services. According to the American Nurses Credentialing Center, five-time Magnet recognition places Capital Health among a select group of health systems that have demonstrated sustained excellence in nursing practice and patient outcomes across multiple designation cycles.

Capital Health Medical Group and Outpatient Network

Capital Health Medical Group connects patients to employed physicians across primary care, women’s health, cardiology, endocrinology, hepatology, and other specialties at office locations throughout Mercer County and neighboring communities.

Recent expansions to the Medical Group include Capital Health OB/GYN Princeton at 800 Bunn Drive, a new Maternal Fetal Medicine office at Capital Health Hamilton, and the launch of Capital Health Hepatology Specialists, which provides virtual liver care for patients managing chronic liver disease without requiring in-person visits. The Hamilton outpatient campus at 1401 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road serves as a hub for diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, and specialty consultations. Capital Health at Deborah Emergency Services functions as a satellite emergency department, extending urgent and emergency care access to additional communities in the region. The Capital Health LIFE program supports elderly patients seeking to maintain independence, while the Capital Health Wellness Center offers fitness and health promotion programming for community members. For additional perspective on hospital systems serving New Jersey and surrounding regions, see the Boone Hospital Center overview and the Barnes-Jewish Hospital profile as examples of similarly comprehensive regional health systems.

Community Health and Patient Programs

Capital Health invests in community health through injury prevention, pediatric safety, substance use treatment, urban care initiatives, and health equity programs that address the social and clinical needs of the Trenton region.

The Injury Prevention Program at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Trauma Center has operated its Pedal Power bicycle safety initiative for 16 consecutive years, providing helmets and cycling education to children to prevent traumatic injuries. Capital Health’s substance use disorder programs include an Opioid Treatment Program for pregnant women and new mothers, addressing one of the most vulnerable populations affected by the opioid crisis in urban New Jersey. The Institute for Urban Care drives focused health equity and community health improvement work across Trenton’s underserved populations. Capital Health’s community health assessments guide these investments by identifying where health disparities are greatest and which interventions carry the strongest population-level impact. The CARES Child Wellness Program extends preventive care outreach to pediatric patients in the community, and the IMPACT Program at Capital Health Cancer Center supports women managing intimacy, menopause, and pelvic health challenges following cancer treatment.