MONOC To Cease Paramedic, Critical Care Operations April 1

WALL, NJ — Come April 1, paramedics and emergency medical technicians with MONOC will no longer be responding to emergency calls in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

The nonprofit company on Thursday announced it will cease its emergency and critical care operations as of 7 a.m. on that date, Jeff Behm, president and CEO, confirmed Thursday evening. The company will be completely shut down by the end of the year.

"We couldn't produce enough revenue to cover our costs," Behm said.

MONOC employs about 325 people, he said, including 250 paramedics, emergency medical technicians, nurses and dispatchers, and another 75 who handle administrative duties including billing. The first responder group will be laid off as of April 1, with the others laid off over the following months, Behm said.

MONOC — the Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Corporation — formed in 1978 as a nonprofit shared services consortium comprised of 13 acute care hospitals in Monmouth and Ocean counties. For years, it was able to cover the costs associated with covering life-saving care at accidents and assist those needing critical care transport.

Its board of directors consists of senior leadership from CentraState Medical Center in Freehold Township, along with the RWJ Barnabas and Hackensack Meridian Health health systems. The board voted unanimously to dissolve the consortium, Behm said.

In recent years, as technology and patient care have become more sophisticated. A struggle to get adequately reimbursed for the cost of care led to the decision to shut it down. For two years, the consortium provided financial support to keep it afloat, he said.

"We have to take care of patients regardless of their ability to pay," he said, and insurance payments vary widely, from the pittance paid by Medicaid and Medicare to more realistic amounts paid by some companies.

MONOC employees were notified of the impending shutdown in an email distributed at 2 p.m. Thursday, Behm said. The email circulated widely on social media and said falling participation in MONOC made it increasingly difficult to bring in enough revenue to cover costs.

MONOC, which serves more than 2.8 million residents living in more than 1,800 square miles, has found the need for its services, including its mobile intensive care unit (MICU) decline over time as the hospitals have expanded their own care in those areas.

Behm said though MONOC will shut down its primary operations as of April 1, that will come as a result of transition from the company to EMTs that are based at various hospitals. A transition plan is in place to make the changeover seamless for patients who will need assistance.

Part of that transition includes what Behm anticipates will be the hiring of many of the MONOC paramedics and nurses, EMTs and dispatchers.

"There's no guarantee of employment," he said, "but all of these (MONOC) employees are of interest. There's a demand for their work."

The dissolution of the consortium will allow the hospital systems to keep providing the care without the added costs involved with operating the service as its own free-standing company, Behm said.

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