Joseph Underwood, M.D., MHCDS, FACEP

Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine

Joseph P. Underwood, M.D., MHCDS serves as Chair of Emergency Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center, the flagship hospital of Hackensack Meridian Health, a leading not-for-profit health care organization in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research, and life-enhancing care. Dr. Underwood also serves as Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.

Dr. Underwood previously served as Chief of the Division of Emergency Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he received numerous awards and honors including the Physician of the Year Award and the Columbia University Department of Medicine Faculty Teaching Award.

Dr. Underwood holds a Master of Healthcare Delivery Sciences degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a Medical Degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed his residency and served as a chief resident at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell. He completed a fellowship in Quality and Patient Safety at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He participated in the Aresty Scholars Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Underwood has published broadly in the peer-reviewed literature.

He has been married for 18 years and is the father of three (Richie – 14, John – 13, Camille 8).

In his free time, he enjoys skiing (alpine and alpine touring), mountain biking (mostly enduro), and sailing (laser, sunfish, Hobie cat).