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Hunterdon Health and Hackensack Meridian Health Merger

CORPORATE STRUCTURE

Hunterdon Health consists of an 184-bed not-for-profit teaching hospital, Hunterdon Medical Center, in Flemington, NJ. It has more than 30 primary and specialty practices throughout Hunterdon, Somerset, Mercer, Morris, and Warren counties. The hospital has been in existence since 1953 and drew national attention at the time for its focus on wellness and primary care.

Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) is one of the largest healthcare systems in the state, with three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, and JFK Medical Center; two children’s hospitals – Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital; nine community hospitals – Ocean Medical Center, Riverview Medical Center, Mountainside Medical Center, Palisades Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center Perth Amboy, Raritan Bay Medical Center Old Bridge, Southern Ocean Medical Center, Bayshore Medical Center, and Pascack Valley Medical Center; two rehabilitation hospitals – JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute and Shore Rehabilitation; and two behavioral health hospitals – Blake Recovery Center and East Mountain School, as well as Carrier Clinic that specializes in psychiatric care and substance use disorders. In addition to seventeen hospitals, HMH has over two hundred subsidiary locations including urgent care centers, doctor practices, imaging centers, and labs.

HMH and Hunterdon announced the proposed merger in June 2026 with the signing of a letter of intent. In October 2026, the parties announced the signing of the Definitive Agreement.

CN EXEMPTION

Since this is a merger between two non-profit entities, the merger is not required to go through the Department of Health’s Certificate of Need process. In this type of circumstance, the merging parties will send a letter to the Office of Certificate of Need and Licensing requesting an exemption. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, the CN office will confirm in a letter that the merger is exempt from participating in the CN process.

CHAPA PROCESS

When two non-profit health systems announce an intention to merge, they must contact the New Jersey Attorney General’s office and begin the Community Health Assets Protection Act (CHAPA) process. This begins with submission of a Letter of Intent, followed with the AG’s office requesting information and documentation including financial statements, fair value appraisals, board meeting minutes, conflict of interest statements from board members and key employees, any consultant reports, and hierarchy charts. Once the AG’s office is satisfied with the information submitted, it will post an announcement for a public hearing, at which members from the community may speak in favor of or against the proposed merger. The AG’s office writes a recommendation, sending it to the Superior Court, which gives the final approval (or denial) based on the AG’s report.

HIGHLIGHTS: DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT

HMH and Hunterdon Health signed the Definitive Agreement in October 2026. The following commitments are included;

  • HMH will make an investment of $200 million for strategic capital projects that will improve access to care including investments in the Hunterdon facilities, programs and its communities;
  • HMH will pay for EPIC, the electronic health record management software, to be used throughout Hunterdon Health;
  • Hunterdon and HMH will evaluate clinical services and ambulatory networks for expansion in the Hunterdon area, as well as development of a physician recruitment plan;
  • The Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation will continue to run as a separate organization and any funds raised locally will support Hunterdon Medical Center and its services; and,
  • Hunterdon will maintain local board oversight for the first six years after the merger closes; the agreement also includes the creation of a Hunterdon Community Advisory Committee.