Officials Fear Closure Of Hoboken, Jersey City, Bayonne Hospitals

HOBOKEN, NJ — With three of the six hospitals in Hudson County in the process of being sold, and at least one said to be having financial difficulties, officials are worried about their possible closure — and have asked Gov. Phil Murphy to monitor their ongoing negotiations and finances.

Local residents are also concerned that one of the facilities, Christ Hospital in Jersey City — which has Manhattan skyline views (see photo) — could be sold for real estate development.

Officials have written letters over the last two weeks asking the governor to intervene in the sale of the land for two hospitals, Hoboken University Medical Center (HUMC) and Bayonne Medical Center, to Alaris Health and owner Avery Eisenreich.

The problems with all three hospitals began last fall when CarePoint Health, which owns the three, began liquidating its assets. In October, CarePoint signed a letter of intent for RWJBarnabas Health to manage Christ Hospital and HUMC, both of which would become part of the RWJBarnabas system.

In November, CarePoint sold portions of the hospital land in Hoboken and Bayonne to Avery Eisenreich, owner of Alaris.

But negotiations between CarePoint and Barnabas temporarily broke down. Officials worried that the hospitals could lose money and close, or be redeveloped.

On Dec. 10, CarePoint filed a lawsuit against Eisenreich, according to NJ.com, alleging that Eisenreich had attempted to slow the transfer of CarePoint operations at Bayonne Medical Center and Christ Hospital to Barnabas.

Eisenreich currently owns the land on which Bayonne Medical Center sits, as well as 70 percent of the Hoboken hospital land, and he has a 25 percent stake in Christ Hospital, according to NJ.com.

A Feb. 3 letter from Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop to the governor (see photos above) said, "It has been brought to my attention that Christ Hospital and RWJ Barnabas are at an impasse, and it appears that the closing of Christ Hospital in Jersey City may be imminent."

On Feb. 10, the Assembly and State Senate members in Hudson County sent Murphy a list of actions they'd like him to take to deal wth all three hospitals, according to NJ.com. They cited Hudson County's rapidly growing population.

The letter to Murphy pleaded, “The impact of closing one or more of these facilities on the Hudson County community would result in a devastating loss of health care access for thousands of individuals and families. We believe that Hudson County needs all three facilities to stay open and fully operational.”

The next day — a week ago Tuesday — the mayors of Bayonne, Hoboken, and Jersey City, as well as legislators in North Jersey, met in Jersey City with the hospital's principals. Afterward, CarePoint told the media that discussions restarted with Barnabas and that they were grateful for the meeting.

However, NJ.com reported on Wednesday that some of the negotiators are far apart on the terms.

Politico reported Friday that CarePoint has offered to sell the land under Christ Hospital to Barnabas for $75 million as long as it remain a hospital.

Officials have suggested that Jersey City strengthen the zoning at Christ Hospital so that it remain a hospital. But Fulop Tweeted on Feb. 6 that the land is already zoned for medical use, and that he would not change the zoning if the facility closed.

Still, one Hoboken resident expressed concerns that the valuable land, in trendy Jersey City Heights, could be vulnerable in the future.

On Tuesday, former Assemblywoman Joan Quigley, who is also a former spokeswoman for Hoboken's hospital, published a letter in NJ.com detailing the long history of, and need for, the county's remaining hospitals.

"If CarePoint hospitals close, more than 100,000 patients a year might have no place to go," she wrote. "The negotiations of CarePoint, RWJBarnabas, and Alaris aren’t just business. They’re life or death."

Officials are also worried about layoffs. In November, CarePoint issued more than 2,000 layoff notices to employees at two of the hospitals.

The County's Six Hospitals

Bayonne Medical Center is the only hospital in the 11-square-mile peninsula city of Bayonne, serving a population of 67,000.

Hoboken University Medical Center is the only hospital in mile-square Hoboken, with approximately 53,000 residents.

Christ Hospital was built in 1872 on the top of the cliffs of Jersey City Heights. That city has a population of 270,000.

Jersey City is also served by Jersey City Medical Center across town, owned by Barnabas.

The fifth hospital in Hudson County is Palisades Medical Center on River Road in North Bergen, now part of the Hackensack University Medical Center system.

Secaucus has Meadowlands Hospital, now known as Hudson Regional Medical Center, which is privately owned.

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