JERSEY CITY – Attorneys for Christ Hospital were in Hudson County Superior Court on Friday to request that the court expedite the sale of the facility to Hudson Hospital Holdco. Sources say the hospital’s board of directors is seeking to expedite the sale to new owner Hudson Hospital Holdco because the hospital is running out of money to meet expenses.
Last year Christ CEO Peter Kelly said the hospital loses approximately $800,000 a month. In February of this year the hospital filed for bankruptcy after a planned sale to a California-based buyer fell through. The hospital has been operating in the red for more than a year and expects the sale to Holdco – which already owns Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center – to stem the bleeding.
Holdco has agreed to buy the struggling nonprofit hospital for $43 million.
A bankruptcy judge has already approved the sale of Christ Hospital to Holdco. Various state agencies, including the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Health and Senior Services must still approve the sale, but are expected to do so soon. Activists from Save Christ Hospital and New Jersey Appleseed are expected the at the Superior Court hearing today to request that some restrictions be placed and the sale and that the community have a role in how the hospital is managed. – E. Assata Wright