Hudson Regional Hospital gets state board stamp of approval for Bayonne Medical Center takeover
Taken from NJ.com
By Teri West | The Jersey Journal
December 12, 2024
Bayonne Medical Center’s future should be in Hudson Regional Hospitals (HRH) hands, the State Health Planning Board affirmed in a vote Thursday, a win for community members and officials who advocated for the transition after years of uncertainty about the hospital’s viability.
The state board’s decision marked the penultimate step in what became a multi-year bid by the Secaucus-based hospital to double its roster by taking over Bayonne Medical Center (BMC) and came in the midst of newly raised union concerns about the move.
CarePoint Health, which owns BMC, Christ Hospital and Hoboken University Medical Center, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which helped opened the door for HRH to take the helm.
“Bayonne hospital has shown how important it was during COVID, and we understand its importance,” HRH President and CEO Dr. Nizar Kifaieh told the board. “We already are working on community relations in town. We are already working with the mayor’s office. We had a tremendous amount of support when we had our public hearing … we’re very happy about this.”
The State Health Planning Board approved HRH’s certificate of need application to assume control in Bayonne in a 3-1-1 vote. The meeting followed a public hearing in November, which saw a packed room in support of HRH, with many doctors painting the institution as a welcome savior after months of service cuts and interruptions in supply availability and sinking morale among employees.
The Department of Health had recommended the approval of the application, arguing that it will keep the hospital stable amid the bankruptcy while maintaining the existing workforce and accepting patients of all incomes. HRH intends to pay $13 million for the hospital.
Health Professionals & Allied Employees (HPEA), which represents employees at both BMC and HRH, had asked for specific commitments from HRH, among them keeping BMC open for at least 10 years and to invest $50 million in the building.
The union did not fight the certificate of need application, but this week, union President Debbie White said after asking on multiple occasions, HRH had yet to recognize the HPAE chapter and contract at BMC.
White noted that HRH also forced new, high health insurance premiums on its union members in Secaucus. The chapter president, for example, said his insurance rate, per paycheck, is more than doubling, from $145 to $311.
HPAE filed a National Labor Relations Board charge, arguing that increasing the rates violated its members’ contract.
White attended Thursday’s meeting to make the board aware of these concerns and prior requests before its vote.
“They’re failing to take into consideration their unions and their union contracts,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “We know there are very few options for the CarePoint system … but it’s concerning us that while they proclaim themselves as this big savior for the CarePoint system, they’re violating one of their existing local contracts.”
Kifaieh told union members that HRH is “committed to working with you and negotiating with you and committing to a successful sustainable relationship moving forward,” which he said is a relationship they have already established between their leadership and the union at HRH.
He said that HRH was blindsided by a 67% increase in health insurance in its renewal notice, which he said they then negotiated down.
Regarding the rates members will face, he said “we’re not trying to create an unfair situation for anybody. We’re working through this still.”