Hudson Regional Hospital took over operations for the Bayonne Medical Center today, the next step for Hudson Health System, which will include HRH and all three CarePoint Health hospitals.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“I’m very excited to be here today for a lot of reasons. Almost five years ago, we went down the path of trying to acquire Bayonne Hospital. This hospital means a lot to the community,” HRH President and CEO Dr. Nizar Kifaieh explained.
“Everyone’s been rooting for this hospital to stay open. It’s taken us a long time to be here, to get here, but we are here now, and we’re very dedicated to bringing this hospital to where it’s supposed to be … We’ve accomplished a lot of great things here.”
He said they have reopened facilities such as the cardiac catheterization laboratory, which specializes in treating heart attacks.
HRH had been pursuing the BMC in particular since June 2020, but after a long journey that included plenty of expensive litigation and extensive political maneuvering, a deal was reached to form Hudson Health System last month – the second try for such an endeavor.
Shortly thereafter, at the beginning of November, CarePoint filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to help secure $67 million in financing.
Kifaieh also said they have reopened facilities such as the cardiac catheterization laboratory, which specializes in treating heart attacks.
Further, he stated that many doctors had lost confidence in the BMC, but that culture is already changing.
“These physicians came back like this,” Kifaieh said, snapping his fingers to emphasize the point.
“We’re really eager to re-open the pre-operative services,” he declared, noting that the shuttered wound care and sleep lab will be re-opened as well.
Kifaieh said they’re going to redo the lobby and pharmacy along with the Operating Rooms. Thy are also going to make new Operating Rooms.
“This is a journey that started in October 2019 when they told us they were going to close our hospital. I went out on your lawn and did a press conference and said they would have to go through me to close our doors,” recalled Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis.
“You have dedicated your lives to the people of Bayonne. So I will always stand up for you for what you do for us. First time in maybe 25 or 30 years, I am confident that we have owners of Bayonne hospital, and we are not going to through this in 10 years from now again,” he declared to applause.
Davis had previously opposed HRH taking over the BMC in favor of BMC Hospital LLC, though that plan was largely abandoned when the city council would not execute eminent domain on the property in 2021.
Hudson County Executive Craig Guy credited Davis and the city council for staying the course and ensuring the hospital stayed open.
“It’s all about providing the healthcare everyone needs: I challenge you guys to provide the best possible healthcare to the city of Bayonne and Jersey City,” Guy declared, a sentiment that was echoed by state Senator Angela McKnight (D-31).
“I am honored to stand here today with this exciting news,” Assemblywoman Barbara McCann Stamato (D-31) said.
“Many of you have worked under challenging conditions. I know it hasn’t been easy … We all understand the importance of accessible, high-quality healthcare.”
Afterwards, HRH Chair Yan Moshe expressed excitement about the latest development in a statement.
“As the property owner and healthcare operator, we are now in a position to assure stability of the hospital for the community,” he said.
“Our combined decades of proven experience operating health care facilities and creating integrated systems will be an enormous benefit to the community as we create a new operating plan for Bayonne Medical Center.”
A spokesperson for the hospital said they plan to remodel the cafe, pharmacy, and emergency room as well.
