New Jersey hospital plans merger with struggling system

A for-profit hospital and a struggling nonprofit health system are planning to come together and create a new organization in northern New Jersey.

Hudson Regional Hospital and CarePoint Health System, which operates three hospitals, say they signed a letter of intent for a merger to create a new organization, the Hudson Health System, in northern New Jersey. (Image credit: ©Ngampol - stock.adobe.com)

Hudson Regional Hospital and CarePoint Health System, which operates three hospitals, say they signed a letter of intent for a merger. They hope to create a new management company called Hudson Health System, and they say it will operate both for-profit hospitals and nonprofit hospitals in an “innovative new model,” according to a news release touting the deal.

Officials with both systems announced the letter of intent Jan. 11. They also said the merged organization would be in-network with all major insurance carriers. New Jersey state officials still must approve the transaction.

CarePoint operates Bayonne Medical Center, Hoboken University Medical Center, and Christ Hospital in Jersey City.

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Hoboken University Medical Center and Christ Hospital would continue to operate as non-profit safety net hospitals, John Rimmer, CarePoint chief medical officer, said in the release.

The deal comes as CarePoint has acknowledged financial difficulties. CarePoint said in December it needed $130 million in state funding to deal with its financial challenges, according to NJ.com and the Hudson County View. CarePoint also launched an online petition to draw attention to their plight in hopes of state officials releasing more aid.

If the deal is approved, Achintya Moulick, CarePoint president and CEO, will serve as president and CEO of the Hudson Health System. Yan Moshe, owner and chairman of Hudson Regional, would serve as the chairman of Hudson Health System.

"Yan Moshe has shown the type of innovative leadership that will allow us to thrive in an ever-changing healthcare environment, and with adequate state support I believe we can build a hospital system that will deliver on its core mission,” Moulick said in a statement.

"This new system expands our mutual impact far beyond and far sooner than what we could ever have achieved separately," Nizar Kifaieh, CEO of Hudson Regional Hospital, said in a statement. “The possibilities are enormous and will energize the entire medical community to deliver that much more to the patients."

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The systems also released statements of support from a host of local elected officials in northern New Jersey, including Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop. The mayor said talks with officials with the health systems focused on creating “a platform that would assure quality care and enduring stability.”

“It is a complex undertaking to blend facilities and cultures and managements, but out of this effort we have arrived at an admirable place: Hudson County is now a leader in community-focused care,” Fulop said in the statement.

In a statement, Moshe lauded Fulop and other local leaders for their role in “envisioning a new network that would allow these facilities and healthcare professionals to reach their potential."

Raj Mukherji, a New Jersey state senator, said in the news release that “this partnership will enable these hospitals not only to survive but thrive.”

He also said, “I am eager to see the implementation of promised community governance at the two hospitals that will continue as nonprofits.”

Moshe, a real estate developer, purchased Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus in 2018. The facility was formerly known as Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center.