SECAUCUS AND BEYOND — After a yearlong regulatory approval process, MHA, LLC. announced that at 12:01AM Tuesday, December 7, 2010, the ownership of Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center was transferred from LibertyHealth System to their company. In a statement released this afternoon, MHA Spokesman Bill Maer said: “MHA is pleased that the transfer of ownership of Meadowlands Hospital is complete. It is our intention to turn around a facility that has been losing millions of dollars a year, into a successful robust facility. We will be investing millions of dollars in capital and technology improvements to the hospital. In the coming months, we will be announcing additional improvements and changes which will improve the important services provided at the facility. We will be working with all of the hospital stakeholders in assuring long-term success. With the yearlong regulatory process completed, Meadowlands Hospital will continue to function as an acute care hospital serving the residents of Hudson County and the surrounding area for many years into the future.”
In January 2010, MHA, LLC. agreed to purchase Meadowlands Hospital from Liberty Health System in a transaction that ultimately was valued at $17.5 million. The non-investor financing was a joint effort between Eastern Union and Investors Savings Bank. The joint effort provided the expertise in structured financing necessary to close this transaction. It has been estimated that Meadowlands Hospital was losing about $5 million a year and Liberty Health Systems stated that it could have been closed in the near future if a new owner was not found. MHA successfully negotiated agreements with the major labor entities representing the approximately 500 employees, including HPAE and several others. In the last two months, this transfer received regulatory approval from both the New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services and the New Jersey Attorney-General and the Superior Court of New Jersey.