Hudson Regional Hospital has reached a deal with CarePoint Health to run their three hospitals to form Hudson Health System after receiving approval from the volunteer CarePoint board last night.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
The Hudson Health System concept was first attempted in January to no avail, but HRH will now run four of Hudson County’s hospitals after working on acquiring the land at Christ Hospital in Jersey City, which made them the frontrunners to take over, as HCV first reported.
The new arrangement will allow for greater managerial and financial flexibility, putting Hudson Health System on a sustainable path to continue operating Hoboken University Medical Center and Christ as nonprofit community institutions, officials said this afternoon.
“Hudson Health System is ready to advance a unified mission of delivering state-of-the-art medical services,” CarePoint Health CEO Dr. Achintya Moulick, who was reappointed to the post on Monday in light of his successor resigning on Sunday, said in a statement.
“Having four hospitals working together under one system creates the scale and geographic coverage required to provide premier services to the entire county. Residents can look forward to expanded services, cutting edge technology and an unwavering focus on patient-centered care.”
HRH Chair Yan Moshe was expectedly thrilled about the outcome, completely expected given that his organization had attempted to reach a deal with CarePoint since June 2020.
On Monday, they offered to provide $25 million in funding to ensure that the hospitals would not close in light of Insight Health CEO Dr. Jawad Shah resigning as CarePoint CEO after just over three weeks, while also terminating their managerial agreement.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to rebuild, restore and protect healthcare in Hudson County by connecting facility ownership with healthcare operations. Hudson Regional Hospital has demonstrated how transformational it is when we apply our expertise to create an efficient, quality health care delivery system,” Moshe added.
“After many months of work by Dr. Moulick and our team, the future of healthcare in Hudson County went from uncertain to bright in one day,” noted HRH President and CEO Dr. Nizar Kifaieh.
The deal is announced just eight days after Hudson County electeds, including Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, both CarePoint board members, held a rally with CarePoint employees pushing for their hospitals to stay open.
“First of all, yesterday was a big day and after weeks of hard work where closure and loss of jobs were a reality, I’m proud that the board was able to get this in a direction to save healthcare in Hudson County and the thousands of jobs at these hospitals,” Fulop, a Democratic candidate for governor, exclaimed.
“There are many people that have helped get us here, but significant credit goes to Dr. Moulick for his leadership over the last five years to keep CarePoint alive. Without that we would never have been able to get to where we are now. The next chapter will be bright for Hudson County hospitals.”
HRH and Moshe have combined to donate $150,000 to the Coalition for Progress super PAC, which is linked to Fulop’s statewide run, as HCV first reported in April.
Bhalla, who might pursue a state Assembly seat in the 32nd Legislative District on Fulop’s ticket next year, also expressed enthusiasm about the outcome.
“I am thrilled that residents of Hoboken now have peace of mind that they will have a high-quality healthcare provider in Hudson Regional taking over CarePoint operations,” he began.
“From the very beginning of this process, Mayor Fulop and I have been steadfast that a functioning hospital with expert care must remain in our two cities, and we are extremely proud to support the leadership at Hudson Regional for stepping up to the plate and saving our healthcare system. I look forward to working with Chairman Yan Moshe, CEO Dr. Nizar Kifaieh and their team to begin the transition in the weeks and months ahead.”
