Hudson Regional Health (HRH) cut the ribbon on new lobby and infrastructure upgrades at Bayonne University Hospital (BUH) today, vocalizing unwavering support with local officials while taking not-so-subtle jabs at their detractors.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
“I can tell this room is filled with friendly people right? This is Hudson Regional Health, not someone else,” HRH CEO and President Dr. Nizar Kifaieh said.
HRH joined elected officials and community members for a lavish celebration for a newly-constructed lobby that includes a new entrance for visitors, open floor plan, upgraded waiting area, community pharmacy, Starbucks, and front desk area.
“I’ve been known to visit some casinos, and trust me, the lobbies there have nothing on this,” stated interim Bayonne Mayor Robert Kubert.
He was referencing the marble aesthetic and multiple chandeliers adorning the lobby that would fit in at a casino, hotel, or luxury apartment building.
Also showcased were multi-million dollar upgrades, both underway and planned, “to improve patient care at BUH.”
Those include renovated patient rooms and nursing stations, sleep lab upgrades, new operating rooms and physician offices, remodeling of the Cath lab, renovations to physical therapy spaces, expansion of behavioral health beds, and future plans to renovate the Emergency Department.
“When we first approached the acquisition of Bayonne hospital in the past, there were lots of speculation: ‘What are these guys going to do? Are they going to build condos, skyscrapers, Top Golf?,’” Kifaieh continued.
“That would have been a good idea actually, but we proved everybody wrong. We’re here today after all these doubters and people that were really not supportive and shed some negative light on us. All that is in our past, and we are here to stay. We’re here to build this hospital and provide the best healthcare delivery system in Bayonne.”
According to Kifaieh, this has been a six-year journey in total, although in the past year HRH was able to accomplish what he said was more than any prior ownership over the last 20 years combined and what took them 5 years to do at their home facility in Secaucus.
HRH purchased BUH, Heights University Hospital (HUH), and Hoboken University Hospital back in April of last year from CarePoint Health via bankruptcy proceedings.
He said competition may have been “imposed” on them years ago, but “there is no competition” in his mind, as every hospital in their system has different but complimentary services.
“The community needs a hospital: They don’t need an urgent care center. They don’t need a place where you go and then you have to be triaged and transferred somewhere else and leave your town,” Kifaieh asserted.
” … If you’re from Bayonne, no one likes to leave Bayonne. So we wanted to make sure that you guys don’t have to, at least for your healthcare, because, look, every minute counts.”
The slew of elected officials in attendance sang HRH’s praises, with Kubert at one point presenting a proclamation declaring today “Bayonne University Hospital Day” to Kifaieh and HRH owner/Board Chair Yan Moshe.
“I appreciate [former Mayor] Jimmy Davis for the work he did, and I appreciate the administration here for choosing Bayonne … because if you saw the hospital before they got here, I think they would have walked in and left, but they didn’t,” Kubert added.
While he’s not seeking a full-term, getting appointed at the end of last year as Davis prepared to be sworn in as Hudson County sheriff, Kubert stated he felt the next administration “is going to be just as impressed as I am.”
“We just want to thank you for what you do, for keeping this hospital up,” noted state Assemblyman William Sampson (D-31).
“From hearing all of the rumors and the false narratives, I’m here to let you know as a state elected official, I will do everything in my power to help this hospital, to continue to move this hospital forward, and advocate for this hospital because this is what we need.”
In return, Kifaieh and Moshe presented Davis with a plaque honoring him for working collaboratively with HRH.
Kifaieh sang Davis’ praises while presenting him with the award, seemingly taking an unnamed swipe at Jersey City Mayor James Solomon after last week’s well-documented sparring match over a certificate of need hearing for the shuttered Heights University that ultimately didn’t happen (local officials held a Town hall anyway).
“It gives us pleasure to recognize our departing mayor, Mayor Jimmy Davis, who’s been a tremendous supporter of this organization, a tremendous supporter of ours as well, because again, he believed in us from the day he met us, very, very passionate about the community and about the hospital that serves the community,” Kifaieh expressed.
“You’ve been an exemplary mayor, and I hope every single mayor in Hudson County and beyond takes you as a role model in supporting their hospitals and their community.”
Davis harkened his support to keep Bayonne hospital open back to September of 2019, when RWJ Barnabas Health was in talks to purchase the facility and close it down just months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We stood out on that lawn, and all the workers that work here, you stood right behind me, and we told the whole world, you’re going to have to go through us to close our hospital,” he recalled.
“And I want to take this moment to thank Yan and the whole Hudson Regional group for today, because this is a great day for the city of Bayonne. It’s a great day for all the workers who have been here for the last six years, fighting and not knowing what was going to happen.”
The kind words for Bayonne officials were in sharp contrast with the tone Kifaieh struck with HRH non-believers both in the city, and in Jersey City and Hoboken.
While he didn’t mention it, the criticisms were levied by those outraged at HRH’s abrupt and illegal closure of HUH as it cited over $104 million in gross operating losses.
However, HRH says it is now walking back the plans for permanent closure in lieu of potentially relocating the facility, which is why they withdrew their CN application
In addition, HRH sparked outcry when it issued nearly 1,000 layoff notices at BUH earlier this month, with concerns rising in Hoboken that the same may happen to them as in Bayonne, or worse, what happened in Jersey City.
“It was important for us to do this, especially with all the noise in the background,” Kifaieh said.
“I want to remind everybody out there who doubted us before about what’s happening here to think about that before they doubt us again in terms of other things that we’re doing, whether in Hoboken or in Jersey City.”
