The owners of a recently shuttered Jersey City hospital are attempting a regulatory do-over that the state health department is blocking \u2014 and a monthslong drama over the hospital is set to spill over at a public meeting Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Weeks after telling the state it had to close Jersey City\u2019s second-to-last hospital, owner Hudson Regional Health is now saying it can keep it open \u2014 in a different location. But state officials are rejecting the request, saying it\u2019s too late for the company to change its mind.<\/p>\n
City officials said the health system has once again left them in the dark about its plans.<\/p>\n
The move comes as the sudden closure brought fines for the owner, Hudson Regional Health, and sparked fierce public backlash from residents and public officials, who have accused the company of deceptive practices and a lack of transparency about its plans.<\/p>\n
Heights University Hospital, formerly known as Christ Hospital, has served Jersey City since 1872. Before it closed in the face of yearslong financial troubles, it was a safety-net hospital, serving a high number of low-income, uninsured patients. Hudson Regional Health took over the hospital last year, after the previous operator, CarePoint Health, went bankrupt.<\/p>\n
Hudson Regional Health told state officials the hospital could no longer function, having lost $74 million last year and projecting a loss of $30 million this year. In order to close, though, the state needs to grant the hospital a certificate of need.<\/p>\n
Hudson Regional Health announced late Tuesday it was withdrawing its application for that certificate, the latest twist in a saga that began late last year and has intensified in recent months. The hospital closed in March ahead of state approval, leaving New Jersey\u2019s second-largest city with just one emergency room<\/a>.<\/p>\n Local Jersey City officials, including Mayor James Solomon, said they had heard nothing from Hudson Regional Health on the potential re-opening, but company spokesperson Vijay Chaudhuri said the surprise move was always on the table.<\/p>\n \u201cHudson Regional Health has always intended to provide critical health care access in a manner that is financially sustainable in the Heights,\u201d company spokesperson Vijay Chaudhuri said in a statement. \u201cIn recent days, HRH has been encouraged by renewed efforts with its landlord to evaluate the restoration of health care services in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n But state officials quickly quashed Hudson Regional Health\u2019s request, which came in a letter on Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAllowing a withdrawal of the closure [certificate of need] application now would require accepting a fiction that the hospital, which has ceased operating as a general hospital, remains open for business and can still relocate to continue serving the community from a different location,\u201d wrote Michael Kennedy, executive director of the state health department\u2019s certificate of need and licensing division, in a letter<\/a> denying the request.<\/p>\n Kennedy cited the fact that Hudson Regional Health opted to close the facility without state approval or public notification in violation of state regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt cannot now avoid the consequences by purporting to withdraw its application,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Chaudhuri did not respond to follow-up questions from Gothamist on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n Avery Eisenreich, the hospital\u2019s landlord, could not be reached right away.<\/p>\n Hospital closures in New Jersey must be approved by the state Department of Health through the certificate of need process. Hudson Regional Health applied for such a certificate to close<\/a> Heights University Hospital last year. The application was only deemed to be complete \u2014 but not approved \u2014 on March 20.<\/p>\n But Hudson Regional Health has not waited for the legal closure process to play out. The company shuttered most of the hospital in November, with only the emergency room remaining open. That ER closed last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Health department officials have said Hudson Regional Health is breaking state law, and the agency had fined HRH $128,000 as of the end of March.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, state lawmakers have said Hudson Regional Health\u2019s actions have caused them to consider stiffening penalties in the certificate of need process<\/a> to deter future facility closures that could negatively affect residents.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s rush to close the hospital has caused problems with its landlord, who sent Hudson Regional Health a letter earlier this month demanding it cease-and-desist any closure efforts. The landlord\u2019s letter warns the certificate of need to operate Heights University Hospital belongs to them as the property owner, and claims Hudson Regional Health’s actions would cause them damages.<\/p>\n