The New Jersey Department of Health’s meeting at Heights University Hospital set for tomorrow night appears to be up in the air after Hudson Regional Health (HRH) told the state they are withdrawing their certificate of need application.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
In a letter Monday, Mandelbaum Barrett PC partner Alexis Goldberger, on behalf of HRH, wrote to NJDOH Certificate of Need and Healthcare Facility Licensure Program Executive Director Michael Kennedy giving their take on the situation.
“Heights [hospital] submitted a CN-3 application to the Department for closure of Heights’s hospital facility, which was deemed complete by the Department on March 20, 2026,” she wrote.
“Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:33-4.8, Heights hereby respectfully requests a withdrawal of the Application prior to final action thereon by the Commissioner for the Department. We trust the Department will cease any further review of the Application and this matter will be withdrawn from consideration by and from the hearing calendar of the New Jersey State Health Planning Board.”
Tomorrow’s meeting at the facility at 176 Palisade Ave. is currently still on the NJDOH website, and while HRH previously tried to push the meeting back, the NJDOH said they could not in order to comply with certificate of need guidelines, as only HCV reported.
The application process is something that every hospitals must obtain approval through in order to close or terminate services, according to the NJDOH, to “demonstrate that the action will not have an adverse impact on access to healthcare services in the region or statewide” among other necessary criteria.
In the same letter to NJDOH Commissioner Raynard Washington, County Executive Craig Guy, Mayor James Solomon, Council President Denise Ridley, and other concerned officials, HRH is saying that they are now looking at options other than closing the facility, including potentially relocating the hospital.
The hospital closed on March 14th, after HRH closed everything besides the emergency department in November, citing $104 million in loses since acquiring the facility from CarePoint Health via a bankruptcy proceeding one year ago.
In the letter, HRH also alleges that “two material adverse changes” have occurred since the purchasing the hospital that have “devastated” CarePoint Health’s top-line revenues.
They cited drastic cuts under the New Jersey Hospital Care Payment Assistance Program, also known as charity care, to both Heights University Hospital and Hoboken University Medical Center in the 2025 state budget.
There, they received only 50 percent of the payments the hospitals received in the 2024 at approximately $4 million as opposed to $8 million.
According to HRH, the hospitals expected to receive $9.3 million for the fourth quarter of last year from the County Option Hospital Fee Pilot Program, but only received $2.2 million.
Of that, $1 million was paid to Hudson County to satisfy pre-bankruptcy arrears in fee assessments under the County Option Program.
For that reason, CarePoint experienced a shortfall of $8.1 million in County Option payments for the period immediately after HRH took of the hospitals.
In October of 2025, the hospitals were expected to receive $10 million from the County Option Program, but a week before the money was set to be sent to HRH a federal government shutdown occurred and the funding was effectively canceled.
According to HRH, despite the complications, closing the Heights hospital is not a permanent option any longer.
“… Closure of the Facility is not an option inasmuch as it would effectively preclude it from fulfilling its charitable purpose and disenfranchise an inordinate number of patients who depend on Heights for their care,” Goldberger also wrote.
“Accordingly, Heights is actively evaluating its options vis-à-vis the Facility, including potentially relocating the Facility to an alternative site, with the intent of preserving long- term community access to the Facility’s services, consistent with Heights’s Certificate of Need and charitable purpose.”
She added that they are in dialogue with both the City of Jersey City and hospital property owner Avery Eisenreich, the founder of Alaris Health, regarding the construction of a new facility, of which they are already seeking financing.
HRH also said it is actively evaluating options for Heights University Hospital, including potentially relocating the hospital to another location to preserve long-term access to the facility’s healthcare services and in accordance with the certificate of need application.
“HRH has always intended to provide critical healthcare access in a manner that is financially sustainable in the Heights and is encouraged by renewed efforts with its landlord to evaluate the restoration of healthcare services in the region,” HRH spokesman Vijay Chaudhuri told HCV Tuesday.
“As a result of these ongoing discussions, HRH has decided to withdraw its Certificate of Need application for closure, with a public hearing no longer taking place tomorrow at Heights University Hospital.”
Following the closure of the hospital, the Jersey City Council approved resolutions exploring the process of seizing the land through eminent domain, though Eisenreich’s involvement makes this option a complicated one.
The NJDOH did not return an email seeking comment Tuesday.
While Chaudhuri said there would be no hearing at the hospital tomorrow, Assemblywoman Katie Brennan (D-32) told HCV that “this meeting is absolutely happening.”
“The certificate of need process is legally required, the state is running the meeting, and the hospital has no authority to cancel it. HRH can’t keep acting like the rules don’t apply to them.”
Further, Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) President Debbie White, the union that represents HUH workers, condemned HRH’s actions.
“The purpose of the New Jersey Department of Health hearing is for the public to have their say. We think with all that HRH has taken away from the community, they deserve to have their voices heard,” she said in a statement.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated Wednesday morning with a comment from Health Professionals and Allied Employees President Debbie White.