The basics:
The New Jersey State Health Planning Board voted Dec. 18 to approve the Certificate of Need Application for the relocation of Monmouth Medical Center from Long Branch to Tinton Falls.
The proposed $858 million project would result in a 252-bed modern acute care hospital on the Vogel Medical Campus at Fort Monmouth, where RWJBarnabas Health is constructing a Specialty and Cancer Care Center.
The project has drawn strong reactions – pro and con – by stakeholders. RWJBarnabas Health and Monmouth Medical Center have stressed that the current 125-year-old facility is outdated and needs to be modernized. However, the current 13-acre campus makes that process far more stringent and would require shutting down portions of the hospital to accommodate.
RWJBarnabas has committed to keeping the MMC campus open and to reinvesting in it. Updates would include:
- 25 closed adult psychiatric beds
- 19 open adult psychiatric beds
- 24-bed observation unit
- Satellite Emergency Department
- All inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services
- Imaging services
- Outpatient surgery and specialty clinics
- A transportation service will be available between the two sites
Opponents of the project argue that it will create challenges for Long Branch residents in access, disparities, transportation (the new hospital would be six miles from current location) and workforce/staffing concerns. Surrounding hospitals argue it would place a strain on them.
A series of tense hearings with public comment were held in November and earlier this month. The board deferred action Dec. 4.
‘A responsible plan’
Board member Stephanie Carey, representing the Public Health Council, proposed a motion that stipulated the continuation of outpatient services would be
- In perpetuity (subject to a state-approved period review process)
- Continued documented engagement with NJ Transit to expand transportation services to the new hospital facility from Long Branch and surrounding communities
- An investment in a community health improvement plan
On to the next phase
That motion to approve the application with those stipulations was unanimously approved. It now advances the application to the desk of acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown for final approval.
“We are very pleased the State Health Planning Board unanimously voted to approve Monmouth Medical Center’s Certificate of Need application today. We now look forward to the next phase of the process in which Acting Health Commissioner Brown will have the opportunity to review the application and make the final determination,” an RWJBarnabas spokesperson said after the action.
“I’m in support of the department of health approval with the conditions that they established,” said Kevin Slavin, a member of the State Health Planning Board and the former CEO of St. Joseph’s Health. “I think this is not just a responsible plan for Monmouth County, but a forward-thinking one for the residents of Monmouth County. And they’re all who will benefit.”
In opposition
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th District, who has vehemently opposed the plan, released a statement, saying Brown has all the information he needs “to do the right thing and keep Monmouth Medical Center Hospital in Long Branch open.”
Long Branch deserves real health care access, not more excuses.
– U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th District
“The State Health Planning Board has raised serious, unresolved concerns about access to care, transportation barriers, existing health disparities, and the strain this move would place on surrounding hospitals,” said Pallone. “If the commissioner were to decide to close the Long Branch hospital after all of that has been put plainly on the record, it would be a conscious decision to ignore the facts, the data, and the voices of this community. Long Branch deserves real health care access, not more excuses.”
Hackensack Meridian Health said in a statement, “Today’s vote by the State Health Planning Board to advance the Monmouth Medical Center relocation application with conditions acknowledges that significant, unresolved risks remain, particularly around patient access, transportation, emergency response, and systemwide capacity impacts.”
The statement added that the network will closely evaluate the conditions and how they would be implemented.
The health provider added, “For a decision of this magnitude, safeguards must be more than statements of intent – these conditions must be binding commitments that protect patients and preserve the stability of care delivery across Monmouth County. We will continue to pursue all available administrative and legal remedies to ensure any final agency action is grounded in patient safety, access, and regional system stability.”
Please stay with NJBIZ for more as this story develops.
