HPAE 5186 AFT Delegate Election Update
Nominations for the Local 5186 AFT Convention Delegates officially closed on April 27, 2026. Following the close of the nomination period, the local has received no nominations.
5186
Statement of Debbie White, RN, HPAE President at NJ Department of Health State Health Planning Board Public Hearing April 15, 2026 Regarding the Certificate of Need Application to Close Heights University Hospital/Christ Hospital
This was never about preserving care as they alleged in bankruptcy. It was about making money. The plan was to close this hospital, tear it down, and replace healthcare with luxury housing.
IMPORTANT - We Need Your Help Getting Information
Management is not providing the information we need to negotiate, enforce our Contract, and make sure they're following the law. We need your help getting information for our attorneys.
‘We want Mikie Sherrill to save our hospital.’ N.J. community’s final rallying cry for health care.
After more than a century in operation, the ER faces the same fate as the hospital itself, which filed a Certificate of Need for Closure in November 2025 in the face of what owners described as multi-million dollar losses.
Jersey City is losing 1 of its 2 emergency rooms. Where will patients in crisis go?
Jersey City is less than two weeks away from losing one of its two emergency rooms, leaving hospitals around Hudson County bracing for increased demand.
Updated: Emergency Department at Heights Hospital to Close Saturday Night
The union that represents nurses at Heights University Hospital has been told that the emergency department — the hospital’s last remaining department — will close by Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
UPDATED HPAE PRESS RELEASE on HRH Closure of its Jersey City Hospital
Hudson Regional Health has notified their employees of their intent to close Christ Hospital, renamed Heights University Hospital, by 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 28, 2026.
Urgent Union Update, February 26, 2026
Management has informed Union Leadership that they are fully closing Christ Hospital. Nizar Kifaieh instructed managers to ignore the law and our Collective Bargaining Agreement and shut down the facility.
UNION WIN! 401(K)
HPAE convinced the bankruptcy judge to agree to preside over timelines for BOTH Missed 401(k) matches.
Local 5186 January 2026 Union Update and Survey
Our Union has also filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over Management's unlawful actions, including their bad-faith bargaining and failure to provide any information.
HPAE Statements on the Council in Jersey City Approving Ordinance 25-124
We applaud the City Council in Jersey City on approving Ordinance 25-124 to maintain Christ Hospital’s 16-acre campus as a Medical Zone.
READ IMMEDIATELY - Union Update, November 14, 2025
On November 13, Hudson Regional announced plans to close all Heights units except the Emergency Department. We believe this rushed and potentially unlawful action leaves the community without a functional hospital and puts patients at risk.