Moulick out as CEO of struggling NJ hospital system as new managers move forward
Taken from NJ.com
By Teri West | The Jersey Journal
October 7, 2024
The CEO and president of a Hudson County hospital network on the brink of collapse has been replaced by the founder of the company planning to take over two of the hospitals.
Former CEO Dr. Achintya Moulick guided CarePoint Health’s transition from a for-profit entity to non-profit status two years ago and had come under fire from a group of CarePoint doctors, and a CarePoint spokesman confirmed he remains chairman of the CarePoint Health board.
Dr. Jawad Shah, founder and president of Insight Health, has assumed the CEO position overseeing CarePoint Health’s three hospitals — Hoboken University Medical Center (HUMC), Bayonne Medical Center (BMC) and Christ Hospital in Jersey City — as his company moves to assume operations of HUMC and Christ, said multiple sources, who requested anonymity since the health system had not publicly announced the news.
Besides the news of Insight’s moves, Shah told the Journal last week that Hudson Regional Hospital plans to operate Bayonne Medical Center.
“Dr. Moulick has brought everyone together to the table with an effort to keep the hospitals open, which is what he did back in 2020 during the global pandemic,” the CarePoint spokesman said. “This was a necessary to save CarePoint Health and keep the doors opened providing compassionate care to the communities who need it most despite the woeful lack of adequate funding by the state.”
A state Department of Health (DOH) spokeswoman said Friday the agency has received notice via management services agreements from Insight related to the three hospitals, and a Certificate of Need application from Hudson Regional Hospital for BMC.
“We are people coming in to do our share and be stewards of the hospitals and of course ensure that they’re solvent for the sake of the community,” Shah said. “We would be running the entire institution for decades and years to come is basically our intent.”
Shah is a neurosurgeon based in Michigan, where he founded Insight Health in 2008. The company, which is an Islamic faith-based non-profit, began with a medical campus in Flint and has proceeded to buy out other hospitals experiencing financial distress, including Mercy Hospital in Chicago and Keokuk Area Hospital in Iowa.
Under Insight, HUMC and Christ would be the state’s first Islamic faith-based hospitals.
“I’m optimistic this new leadership will bring the financial stability our hospitals need to continue supporting the dedicated staff and providing the best care for patients,” said Hoboken Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, who chairs HUMC’s board.
Moulick became CarePoint CEO in summer 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though he helped the hospitals navigate the health crisis, he faced scrutiny in the past year as the system’s debt led to service cuts, pay delays for employees and long unanswered questions about the system’s plans to resolve the issues.
The healthcare system has run up millions in debt and is being sued by dozens of creditors under Moulick, who has consistently urged the state to provide more financial assistance to his safety net hospitals that serve a mostly under- and uninsured population.
Moulick and Shah declined to comment on the change in leadership, but the CarePoint spokesman said “CarePoint transitions will be directed by Dr. Moulick.”
Insight has been providing assistance to CarePoint since March.