Hoboken University Medial Center’s Municipal Hospital Board voted last week to appoint Fred Bado as the new Executive Director of the Municipal Hospital Authority, displacing George Crimmins, who served in that role since the hospital was converted from a private entity to a city-controlled institution.
The MHA is a quasi-governmental buffer between the city and the hospital management firm, created to minimize political involvement in the health care facility.
Crimmins said his contract was up in April and was not renewed. He said there was no reason given for his non-renewal, but that the board commended his service at the last meeting. He will serve until the end of the month.
Bado retired as a director in City Hall recently with the change of mayors. His retirement party was last week, celebrating his years of service at the city and county, but now he will take over as the MHA executive director.
Bado came under fire last year as Community Development director for several reasons, including an ill-conceived multi-million dollar walkway contract that was pointed out in a city audit.
Several sources claimed that the hiring may have been the doing of former Mayor David Roberts as a parting shot at Crimmins, a longtime Russo family ally.