The basics:
- NJDOH approves Monmouth Medical Center‘s relocation to Tinton Falls with conditions
- Lawmakers and RWJBarnabas Health reach a deal to maintain acute care services in Long Branch
- Agreement would allow acute care hospital operations at both campuses for at least 10 years
- Plan includes surgical beds, full emergency department & continued community engagement
Just after the state health department’s approval of the Monmouth Medical Center relocation from Long Branch to Tinton Falls Thursday, lawmakers and RWJBarnabas Health leaders announced a deal pertaining to existing service at the site.
As NJBIZ has previously and extensively reported, the new project in Tinton Falls led to heated debate over recent months as local residents worried about the lost of their acute care hospital in Long Branch. Meanwhile, hospital officials have said they would maintain a presence as well as a number of services at the current site. MMC is part of the RWJBarnabas Health network.
The New Jersey Department of Health approved the Certificate of Need application for the relocation Jan. 8, with a few conditions. Terms include maintaining a satellite emergency department, outpatient surgery services, outpatient clinics, a patient observation unit, imaging services and inpatient psychiatric beds in Long Branch; providing no-cost ground transportation between the two campuses for patients; and a requirement to create a Community Advisory Group to ensure continued engagement with residents in the area.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th District, who represents Long Branch and has been an outspoken critic of the project, announced Jan. 8 he brokered an agreement between the health system, Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders to establish a new pilot program at MMC in Long Branch.
In the works
Under the proposed framework, a pilot program established at MMC in Long Branch would allow RWJBH to operate acute-care hospital services at both MMC in Long Branch as well as at the new facility in Tinton Falls for at least 10 years following the relocation.
The state health commissioner would also have the option to extend the pilot further.
Critics of the project pointed to the original proposal, which called for a split hospital license between Long Branch and Tinton Falls and a plan to keep inpatient surgical services and a full ED in Long Branch. However, that changed during the process, with NJDOH saying current regulations do not allow for such a split.
This legislation would work around that. The proposed framework for MMC in Long Branch would establish 48 surgical and observation beds, with up to 12 beds convertible to intensive care use. It would also continue to host operating rooms for major surgery, as well as the full-serve emergency department.
Pallone says the combination of requirements from the health department, along with the acute care inpatient services in this legislation, would leave the current site with sufficient medical service to support the Long Branch community.
‘Essential services’
“I want to thank RWJBarnabas Health leadership, Gov. [Phil] Murphy and his administration, and our state legislative leadership for working with me to find a solution,” said Pallone. “While I can fully appreciate the value of a new hospital in Tinton Falls, I could not let that be at the expense of those in the Long Branch area that face the biggest barriers to health care.”
“RWJBarnabas Health remains steadfast in its commitment to transforming health care throughout Monmouth County,” said George Helmy, executive vice president, RWJBarnabas Health. Helmy also previously served as U.S. senator, following Bob Menendez’s conviction, and Murphy’s chief of staff. “This includes our promise to maintaining essential services in Long Branch and developing world-class facilities at the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls.
“This has always been our mission, and we have never wavered. We are grateful for the support and partnership of the Murphy administration, Congressman Pallone, Sen. Vin [Vin] Gopal, Assemblymembers [Margie] Donlon and [Luanne] Peterpaul and thank them for their continued efforts on behalf of the families we serve.”
Happy endings
As NJBIZ previously reported, Pallone and Helmy had a heated exchange at a Nov. 13 hearing in Eatontown on the MMC move, which makes the agreement announced Jan. 8 even more notable.
“This pilot program seeks to continue the investments and care delivered by our incredible team at Monmouth Medical Center, which was heralded by hundreds of speakers in the public hearings,” said Helmy. “We thank Speaker [Craig] Coughlin and Chairman [Joseph] Vitale for their continued leadership and steadfast dedication to quality care throughout New Jersey.
“Today we celebrate partnerships and public policy that help improve the lives of New Jersey families.”
“I am glad that all parties were able to come to an agreement to keep vital services at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch,” said Gopal, a sponsor of the legislation. “Residents in Long Branch and now Tinton Falls and the surrounding area will be able to continue receiving lifesaving care.”
