Bergen New Bridge breaks ground on $45M multigenerational center (updated)

Bergen New Bridge Medical Center broke ground Oct. 7 on a new facility designed to support families across generations.

The hospital expects to open the 45,000-square-foot building by 2028 at its campus in Paramus. The new facility will feature a childcare program for hospital workers and community physician offices.

Additionally, the space will house the future Bergen County Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Center. Covered by Medicare and Medicaid, PACE programs provide medical, adult day health, and social services to adults aged 55 and older who meet nursing home care eligibility but prefer to keep living independently.

According to officials, the project aims to support families balancing child-rearing, elder care and their own health needs. Bringing services together on one campus seeks to make care and support more accessible at every stage of life. The effort partially stems from a New Jersey Department of Human Services initiative calling for the expansion of PACE services to all 21 counties across the state.

Senior care organization WelbeHealth is partnering with Bergen County and Bergen New Bridge Medical Center to develop a regional PACE center in Paramus. WelbeHealth already operates a similar facility in Newark and also plans to help launch a site to serve residents of Sussex, Warren and Morris counties, the state said.

In Bergen County, construction is expected to be completed at the end of 2027. Then, the facility should open the following year, pending state approvals, officials said.

Closer to care

The $45 million project is funded through the Bergen County Improvement Authority. Besides serving as the financing arm for the county, the agency is Bergen New Bridge Medical Center’s license holder.

Local, county and state officials joined Bergen New Bridge Medical Center to celebrate the Wednesday groundbreaking.

Attendees included U.S. Reps Josh Gottheimer, D-5th District, and Nellie Pou, D-9th District; state Sen. Holly Schepisi, R-39th District; Assemblywoman Ellen Park, D-37th District; New Jersey acting Human Services Commissioner Steven Cha; and Bergen County Improvement Authority Executive Director Mauro Ragueso.

Bergen New Bridge Medical Center President and CEO Deborah Visconi said, “As New Jersey’s largest hospital and largest licensed nursing home, we see every day how much families are juggling, often raising children and caring for aging parents while trying to keep up with their own health.”

“Bringing childcare, community physician offices and a PACE program for older adults to our campus will help ease that burden. When your community trusts you enough to share what they need, you have a responsibility to follow through. Today, we’re putting shovels in the ground to bring families closer to getting the care and support they’ve asked for,” she said.

Making healthcare ‘more human’

WelbeHealth President Matt Paterson shared, “Communities build community. Today, we felt Bergen County’s shared commitment to better, more connected care for older adults and their families.”

“WelbeHealth believes in bringing one coordinated team around the whole person, making healthcare more human and helping older adults stay connected to the communities they love. We see the relationships are being built, the commitment is here, and this community has already come together to support its older adults,” he said.

Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco added, “What makes this project so special is that it will serve Bergen County families across generations.”

He went on, “I’m incredibly proud of how far Bergen New Bridge has come, and this is another example of our commitment to making this campus and the care it provides better for everyone.”

Along with the recent expansion of its emergency department, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center has steadily added several new offerings. That also includes a new eye care center on campus, Spanish language health services. And a teen substance use recovery program.

A clinical affiliate of Rutgers, the 1070-bed hospital is the fourth largest publicly owned hospital in the nation. The not-for-profit safety net facility offers emergency, medical, surgical, behavioral health, rehabilitation and long-term care services. It also operates satellite offices in Bergenfield, Englewood and Paterson. And has primary care clinics in select Inserra Supermarkets-owned ShopRite stores in Bergen County.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10:12 a.m. Oct. 9, 2026, after a Bergen New Bridge Medical Center confirmed the project’s cost to NJBIZ, which was first attributed to a NorthJersey.com report.

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