HOBOKEN – A staff report from the Department of Health and Senior Services has recommended to the state Health Planning Board that they endorse the sale of Hoboken University Medical Center to HUMC Holdco, the same group that owns Bayonne Medical Center.
The state Health Planning Board will decide after a hearing on Aug. 4 in Trenton if they wish to make a recommendation to the Department of Health to approve the sale of the city’s municipally owned hospital.
At the Trenton hearing, the applicant will make a presentation to the state Health Planning Board outlining the sale, and additional public comments will be accepted.
The state Health Planning Board held a public hearing in Hoboken on July 21.
Certain conditions
The staff recommended to the Board that they approve the sale with certain conditions. However, it is ultimately thebBoard’s decision whether or not the conditions will be issued to the potential buyer after the hearing on Thursday.
According to a 20-page report provided to The Reporter , the staff recommends that the new owners, as promised, hire at least 75 percent of the current employees.
The hospital shall also continue to operate as a hospital for at least seven years.
HUMC Holdco, LLC shall continue all clinical services and community health programs currently offered at HUMC, according to the report.
“Within three months of approval of this application, HUMC Holdco LLC shall develop and participate in a Community Advisory Group (CAG) to provide ongoing community input to the hospital’s CEO and the hospital’s Board on ways that HUMC can meet the needs of the residents in its service area,” according to the report.
The new owners must also keep the Department of Health informed on the changes to the hospital, under the recommendation from the staff.
The hospital would also have to hold an annual community meeting to hear input from residents.
For the first year of ownership, the new owners would also be required to assume the contracts of the current Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) and insurance contracts, according to the staff report. The owners have said in their questions with the state that they wish to negotiate new contracts with insurance companies when they take over the hospital.
The state Health Planning Board planned to continue accepting public comments until the end of the day on July 29, even though the staff recommendation to the board was issued before the period of accepting comments was over.
For more on this issue, keep watching HudsonReporter.com, and check out some related links below. — Ray Smith
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