HOBOKEN – The nurses’ union at Hoboken University Medical Center has withdrawn their objection to a settlement agreement that will likely pave the way for the sale of HUMC to a group from Bayonne Medical Center.
The objection was withdrawn “in exchange for some additional considerations,” according to a representative from JNESO, the nurse’s union.
After the settlement is approved, the city and prospective buyer need a Certificate of Need from the state Commissioner of Health, which will officially begin the transition process. The sale also relieves the taxpayers of a $52 million bond guarantee. The council voted to guarantee the bonds in 2007 to save the facility from closure due to financial problems. However, Mayor Dawn Zimmer has said a goal of her administration is to sell the hospital to a private buyer to relieve the taxpayers of the bond guarantee while keeping the hospital an acute care facility. The new buyers, HUMC Holdco, have said they would keep the hospital as such for at least a period of seven years.
A report in the Star Ledger said the new owners plan to expand the hospital site to include a nursing home and medical office space, citing emails obtained by the Ledger.
The parties involved in the sale were still in court as of 6 p.m. on Friday.
A press conference hosted by Mayor Dawn Zimmer at the hospital announcing the agreement and sale approval was scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. — Ray Smith
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