CarePoint Health has begun financial restructuring that may include bankruptcy discussions for their three Hudson County hospitals, which Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, also a Democratic candidate for governor, and state Senator Raj Mukherji (D-32) are against.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I am not supportive of bankruptcy as proposed by CarePoint as without appropriate bridge financing during the bankruptcy process, in addition to guarantees from the governor’s office, neither of which exist today, then the risk for Hoboken and Christ hospitals closing permanently is too high,” he told HCV this afternoon.
“If Christ Hospital and Hoboken were to close even under the pretense that it is temporary, they would no longer be grandfathered in as hospitals based on previous NJ rules and would likely never re-open as they would have to apply based on current 2024 hospital rules which are onerous.”
Fulop continued that since the Hoboken University Medical Center, located at 308 Willow Ave., is in a flood zone, and Christ Hospital, located at 176 Palisade Ave. in Jersey City is an old building, neither would be allowed to re-open based on current state rules.
“The risk of permanent closure is high if bankruptcy happens without guarantees from the governor himself. Furthermore, the fact that the hospital is already alerting low level union employees that they will be terminated should alarm everyone and I do believe the governor needs to step in here and appoint a different hospital system to manage healthcare in Hudson.”
The mayor added that he had no preference on who the new hospital system may be.
Back in January, Hudson Regional Hospital and CarePoint were combining to form Hudson Health System, a plan Fulop had helped bring together. Around the same time, the New Jersey Department of Health appointed a financial monitor.
This came soon after CarePoint announced significant financial woes, indicating that they would need $130 million on state funding to continue operating “at an optimal pace.”
However, it appears that effort has been scrapped, as CarePoint’s financial situation has become even dire: HRH is suing CarePoint for not following through on the deal, while various vendors have sued for non-payment.
“I’m deeply concerned about CarePoint moving rapidly toward a bankruptcy filing without exhausting all of its potential M&A options, especially with another hospital system still at the table and reportedly willing to provide bridge financing,” Mukherji’s own statement says.
“The labor leaders representing the workforce have no information. The board has scant information. It’s a mess. We all need to step up and support this critical safety net health system and the vulnerable patient population it serves.”
CarePoint’s volunteer board first began discussing Chapter 11 bankruptcy at yesterday’s meeting, sources who spoke under the condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak on the matter, told HCV.
A resolution was approved, where all but one member voted yes, to start a process exploring a reorganization, which could ultimately lead to filing for bankruptcy, sources said.
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis expressed great frustration over the way CarePoint has dealt with this situation over the past year-and-a-half.
“My administration has been working for more than a year to get clarity on the direction that CarePoint is going. We are acutely aware of the amount of debt CarePoint is carrying and the vast number of lawsuits CarePoint is involved in and the multimillions of judgments entered against it,” he said in a statement.
“CarePoint has been overseen by a state imposed financial monitor for quite some time and it is the city’s hope that the monitor’s oversight will, at some point, ensure that CarePoint’s assets — namely the three hospitals — survive to serve the residents of Hudson County … This has been an incredibly frustrating ordeal for all involved and that frustration has been exacerbated by the lack of information and the vast amount of misinformation that has been made available to us by CarePoint and other entities over the past 18 months or so.”
The Peninsula City mayor also said that the NJDOH and state government for their assistance, as well as saying that “it is paramount” that all three CarePoint hospitals remain open.
Additionally, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said that CarePoint is well past the point of needing to make a move.
“The time for action is now. It is imperative that CarePoint’s leadership take the necessary steps to protect the health and safety of our community. I remain in close contact with HUMC’s leadership to ensure that patient care remains uninterrupted and to provide any support needed to maintain operations,” his own statement says.
“The health and safety of Hoboken residents is my top priority. I expect CarePoint to show the same commitment and take immediate action to secure the future of Hoboken University Medical Center. The burden is now on them to do right by the communities they serve.”
A spokeswoman for Murphy’s office deferred comment to the NJDOH, where spokeswoman Nancy Kearney said they are monitoring the situation closely to ensure the health and safety of patients, calling CarePoint’s legal and financial situation “of grave concern.”
“CarePoint’s overall legal and financial situation continues to be of grave concern, and the New Jersey Health Department has taken several steps in response. The department has put in place two financial monitors (one appointed in February 2020 and one beginning in January 2024); one of whom is onsite at the hospitals several times a week,” she said.
“The department also has worked to quickly process funds designated for CarePoint, most recently its entire Charity Care subsidy for FY25. The department has and will continue to advocate to all parties with an interest in ongoing access to services in these communities to find a sustainable solution.”
Hoboken 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, who sits on the HUMC board, expressed that elected leaders should have addressed this much sooner.
“It is beyond frustrating that despite repeated warnings and efforts to elevate the situation facing Hoboken and Jersey City hospitals to elected officials in Hudson County and up to the state level, they have not intervened at all,” she said in a statement.
“These hospitals, gutted financially by a former owner who ripped out profits and left behind unsustainable debt, serve as a safety net hospital mainly to patients from other Hudson County cities like Union City and West New York. If these hospitals fail, the responsibility will lie squarely on the backs of those elected leaders who chose not to help when it mattered most.”
A spokesperson for CarePoint said no one should be concerned about any immediate possibility of one of their hospitals shuttering.
“CarePoint Health remains committed to delivering best in class healthcare services to the people of Hudson County, and the system is exploring various strategic financial restructuring options to support that vision,” their statement says.
“It’s important to note that this is the first step in an ongoing process and that no final decisions have been made with regards to the type of restructuring that will ultimately be pursued. CarePoint’s three local hospitals are not facing any imminent threat of closure and the system’s leaders are closely coordinating with the state monitor and the Department of Health on next steps.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated with a comment from CarePoint Health.
Wouldn’t it better to just let JERSEY CITY MEDICAL CENTER TAKE OVER THE WHOLE HEALTH SYSTEM
They been a better hospital over 30 plus years. WE GET BETTER SERVICES WITH JCMC
aka RJW – LIBERTY
This is the 3rd time Hoboken’s hospital faced potential closure. Mayor Roberts stepped up, took responsibility, and saved the Hospital. Then, when it faced closure again, Mayor Zimmer stepped up, took responsibility, and saved it again.
In contrast, Mayor Bhalla has done and continues to do literally nothing but say it’s someone else’s job. It’s almost as if he wants the Hospital to close (a gift to JCMC and Mayor Fulop) and just wants to escape being blamed.
This is horrendous! The State must step up with the cash necessary to keep these hospitals in operation. Jersey City had 4 hospitals 25 years ago and now we are down to 2. If Christ closes how can the JCMC handle everything?? We have given Ukraine $220 BILLION since this stupid war began in 2022 and hospitals all over America are on life support. This country is just so screwed up.
The hospitals have a history of turning their back on private physicians that had been bringing insured patients for services over the years. They have assigned OnCall responsibilities to care for the indigent and underinsured (50% of the patient volume), but have defaulted on making contracted nominal payments to the doctors for work done dating back as long as a year. Then they wonder why patients are not being brought to help balance their deficits. They continue to hire doctors to work for their medical group only to see them leave after short periods of time. Their primary care base has been leaving for other institutions on a monthly basis. It’s just a bad situation initiated by the former owners who dragged them into this position. Unless they are more humble and work to restore the allegiance of community doctors this system will continue to fail.
“the indigent and underinsured (50% of the patient volume”……
Yes. Many urban and rural hospitals just can’t cover their expenses. There is no option, at least for right now, but to pump public money into the hospitals. And capacity has shrunk with many hospitals closing. A couple of months ago Mass General Hospital in Boston issued a release imploring people not to come to the ER unless you are seriously ill or incapacitated.