Real estate company buys hospital land
A vague press release from a real estate investment trust called Medical Properties Trust, based in Birmingham, Ala., said last week that Medical Properties had purchased a hospital in Dallas, Texas, as well as the land of a New Jersey hospital that sounds a lot like Bayonne Medical Center.
The release reads, “The company purchased for approximately $58 million the real estate of a 6-story, 278-bed acute care hospital in the New Jersey area of metropolitan New York, and leased the facility to the operator under a 15-year lease, with six 5-year extension options. The operator is an affiliate of a private hospital operating company that acquired the hospital in 2008.”
Bayonne Medical Center is a 278-bed hospital.
The release implies that the land has been sold, but the facility has been leased back to the owners who are running it as a hospital.
A spokesperson for Bayonne Medical Center confirmed on Tuesday that there has been a sale of land, but not of the hospital. More details will be revealed after they are made public.
The hospital was purchased in 2008 by a group of investors, IJKG Opco LLC.
Watch www.hudsonreporter.com for updates on this issue.
Elderly woman killed in multiple car crash
Helen Antczak, 82, of Bayonne, died as a result of a seven-car crash near Avenue E and 36th Street on Feb. 20. Six others were injured, including an off-duty Jersey City police officer.
Hudson County Prosecutor Ed DeFazio said the off-duty police officer was allegedly speeding when his car struck several other vehicles.
Stove fire on East 22nd Street
A fire caused by a faulty gas line to a stove at 44 E. 22nd St. on Feb. 18 filled the third floor of a residential structure with smoke. Damage from the fire was minimal, officials said, with no displacement of residents.
Union backs gas line construction
Local 825 of the International Union of Operating Engineers said in a release it will support the construction of a new gas line through Bayonne and Jersey City because it will provide more than 5,200 jobs to the area.
This puts the union at odds with officials and many residents from Bayonne, Jersey City, and Hoboken, which have come out against the proposed project because it would run alongside residential properties.
Rights bill for assisted living approved by state Senate
Legislation sponsored by senators Richard J. Codey and Sandra Bolden Cunningham that would establish assisted living facility and comprehensive personal care home resident rights has been approved by the full Senate.
“Statistics show that millions of Americans over age 65 have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care or protection. That is simply unacceptable. It is time that all of our seniors are treated with the respect and protection under the law that they deserve,” said Cunningham.
The bill, S-2458, would require assisted living facilities and comprehensive personal care homes to distribute a statement of resident rights to each resident and would require providers to inform each resident, the resident’s family member, and the resident’s legally appointed guardian of the resident’s rights.
The bill would also establish various other rights for every resident of an assisted living facility or comprehensive personal care home that is licensed in the state.
Hudson County hopes to go green
Following the example of a similar facility located in Essex County, Hudson County Freeholder Chairman Bill O’Dea has asked Hudson County Schools of Technology’s officials to develop a small hydroponic greenhouse or urban farm in the existing campus, and a larger one for the new campus when it is constructed in Secaucus later.
“The quality of food is great, and it is a great business learning opportunity for students that is financially profitable,” O’Dea said.
The fresh vegetables grown can be sold to the vendors providing food at the Hudson County Correctional Center and other county facilities located at the Meadowview campus in Secaucus.
“Since it operates year round, a 30-by-100 foot facility can produce as much product as four acres of land,” O’Dea said.
Bringing families together
Wallace Temple AME Zion Church in Bayonne is holding a family to family program for the next 12 weeks, sponsored by the State of New Jersey to help rebuild and strengthen families.
The dates are staggered, starting on Wednesdays in Feb. at 6 p.m., on Fridays in March, then back to Wednesdays in April and May. The program will conclude on May 10.
There is no charge, but organizers ask that attendees commit to attending at least 10 of the 12 events. Discussions will cover a range of subjects that include the impact of HIV and AIDS, strengthening the individual, and the family.
Sires backs unemployment compensation
Rep. Albio Sires co-sponsored the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Expansion Act, which would add an additional 14 weeks of benefits to Tier I of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. The bill also extends the expiration date of federal unemployment benefits from June 2, 2012 to Sept. 22, 2012. Currently, there are 4.4 unemployed individuals for every job opening. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has found that extending unemployment compensation is one of the most cost-effective and fast-acting ways to stimulate the economy.
“While New Jersey’s unemployment rate fell slightly in December 2010, it is still much too high and I believe that providing additional unemployment insurance is greatly needed,” said Congressman Sires. “Our current economic situation has been particularly hard for those who have exhausted their unemployment benefits and have been unable to find work.”