The union that represents the healthcare workers at Heights University Hospital in Jersey City is slamming their employer for initiating what they’re calling an “illegal” closure of the facility.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“It was difficult to conceive of an employer that could be more harmful to its employees and its community than CarePoint has been in Hudson County. But Hudson Regional Health has surpassed CarePoint as the worst employer in Hudson County,” Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) President Debbie White said in a statement.
“Hudson Regional has made this decision illegally with no regard for Department of Health regulations or the Warn Act. What will happen to the patients in this community? Their employees have been left without a paycheck for two weeks of work and without future employment.”
HRH Chief Strategy Officer and board member Adam Alonso said that out of Heights hospital’s 700 or so employees the “vast majority” are being offered employment at one of their other three hospitals (they still own their original facility in Secaucus).
“We have sought to work with our labor partners and will continue to. We are focused on healthcare and job preservation and hope all interested will join that effort,” he emphasized.
Hudson Regional Health acquired then-Christ Hospital, the Hoboken University Medical Center, and the Bayonne Medical Center via a bankruptcy in April and financial woes at the Jersey City hospital emerged by late September, both as HCV first reported.
HRH CEO Dr. Nizar Kifaieh announced late last night that since they did not get the tens of millions of dollars state funding they requested, they have filed a certificate of need for closure with the New Jersey Department of Health.
The two Jersey City mayoral candidates have weighed in, with Ward E Councilman James Solomon, who shared the HPAE’s concerns leading up to this announcement, calling a press conference last night where he said they were not following the legal process to close.
Last month, Solomon accused HRH of trying to close the hospital in favor of luxury development, which they said was not true and was a way to get supplemental revenue for the facility.
As for his December 2nd runoff opponent Jim McGreevey, he called for the beginning of a process where the hospital has a new owner, as well as for an Emergency Healthcare Continuity Task Force to oversee the transition.
Alonso also said that the financial conditions did not allow for a traditional closure, but emergency healthcare access will still be available at Heights hospital, which follows all state regulations and guidelines.
“There’s a need for a vibrant healthcare facility in the Heights and we will figure out how to do that going forward after conversations with our state legislature, the county, the incoming governor, and the next mayor of Jersey City.”
