Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi, with the support of New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, has endorsed University Hospital’s use of the popular Bon Jovi song, Who Says You Can’t Go Home?, when a COVID-19 patient is discharged from the hospital after recovering from this devastating virus.
The First Lady, who has helped University Hospital and other institutions throughout the state in celebrating COVID-19 discharges, said she would recommend this song be considered by hospitals statewide, as the New Jersey anthem for saluting the growing numbers of COVID-19 survivors and the beginning of the state’s health and economic recovery from the viral pandemic.
According to University Hospital President and CEO Shereef M. Elnahal, MD, MBA, the hospital pursued permission to use the song in order to have an anthem to recognize the increasing numbers of virus-positive patients who have sufficiently recovered enough to be sent home or to sub-acute care. Since April 1, the hospital has discharged more than 400 virus patients. In addition, Essex County, where the Newark-based hospital is based, remains one of the biggest hot spots for COVID-19 infections, and has lost more residents than any other county."
“While we need to be reminded every day to take strict precautions to stop the spread of coronavirus, it’s also good to be reminded just how many hospitalized patients beat the virus each and every day as well,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy, noting the positive trend of statewide hospital discharges and the statistical plateau of virus-related data.
“We are grateful to Jon for dedicating his time, song, and talent to our health care heroes, and to the First Lady for everything she has been doing to support front-line heroes during this crisis. Every single patient we discharge successfully is a victory in this war, and this song allows our whole team — nurses, doctors, EMS and paramedics, and so many others — to celebrate every time we save a life,” said Elnahal. “I am in awe of the hard work our staff puts in each day as they work to help our patients overcome this virus. Our work at University Hospital speaks to this song more and more every day: who says you can’t go home?”
