HOBOKEN – The only things that stand between the sale of the Hoboken University Medical Center from the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority to a group from Bayonne are public hearings and the state’s blessing.
On Wednesday night, the Authority voted unanimously to execute an asset purchase agreement with HUMC Holdco, a group that has common ownership with Bayonne Medical Center. The agreement also ended the exclusive negotiation period, which began in early January.
However, before the sale is complete, there will first be public hearings and the potential new owners will need to acquire a certificate of need from the state.
Some hospital workers in attendance at the meeting on Wednesday night inquired about their job security. HMHA Chairwoman Toni Tomarazzo said the potential new owners will maintain at least 75 percent of the current employees, and will recognize the current unions.
The city took over the hospital in 2008 after voting to guarantee $52 million in bonds, saving it from closure. However, Mayor Dawn Zimmer, a member of the authority, has said it should be a priority for the city to sell the hospital to a private buyer to remain an acute care facility, and also to relieve the city of its bond obligations. The hospital has experienced financial losses, and was recently the recipient of $7 million in state aid. The goals for the sale are to maintain an acute care service facility, relieve the city of its debt, preserve jobs, and meet the goals of the New Jersey Department of Health for delivery of health care, according to a presentation delivered on Wednesday evening.
Under the terms of the agreement, the new owners would be required to maintain the facility as a hospital for at least seven years.
The proposed deal totals $91.7 million in deal considerations, including a $51.6 million payment in cash to extinguish the city’s bond guarantee. Under the proposed deal, $20.9 million will be spent on investments in the hospital, and $19.2 million will be spent on “other deal considerations”, including accounts receivable payments and liabilities assumed as part of the transaction.
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