Beleaguered Heights University Hospital, an acute care facility in Jersey City that has been facing closure for weeks because of inadequate funding, will get $2 million to fund critical services for about the next two weeks according to an announcement Oct. 17.
Dr. Nizar Kifaieh, president and CEO of Hudson Regional Health (HRH), made the announcement along with Hudson County Executive Craig Guy and state Senators Raj Mukherji, Brian Stack and Angela McKnight. The three state senators requested an appropriation of $25 million to keep the health-care facility open.
Kifaieh was appreciative of the partial funding but cautioned that the hospital still faced challenges.
“I offer my thanks to our state leaders, and in particular Governor Murphy, Senator Mukherji, and County Executive Guy, for this partial funding commitment from the Department of Health,” said Kifaieh.
“Unfortunately, while this short-term, two-week stopgap funding is certainly appreciated, it will not meaningfully address the dire financial challenges facing the hospital, most of which we inherited from the previous operators. We look forward to continuing a collaboration with our elected officials, unions, essential workers, and community stakeholders that we hope will ensure a sustainable, long-term healthcare delivery system in the Heights.”
Over the next two weeks, HRH will work with elected officials to develop two paths forward for the future of the hospital. The first path is a plan to ensure the long-term stability of the hospital with a combination of funding from the state and other identified sources. This includes a $25 million appropriation through the state legislative delegation that is anticipated to be voted on during the lame duck legislative session.
HRH said the second path, in the absence of additional funding from the state, would result in a suspension of services because of the hospital’s financial distress and, eventually, a complete closure of Heights University Hospital.
Hudson Regional Health assumed control of the former CarePoint hospitals in October 2024 and has invested more than $300 million into the system to address deficiencies it inherited from CarePoint.
Despite these unprecedented investments, the hospital continues to lose over $1.5 million per week, which HRH said is “an unsustainable rate that jeopardizes Hudson County’s healthcare system.” HRH says 65% of Heights Hospital patients are uninsured, low-income, or otherwise vulnerable residents, leading to low reimbursement rates, a situation that is compounded by major cuts in Charity Care funding and Medicaid.
Hudson Regional Health now operates a network of four acute care facilities comprising Secaucus University Hospital, Bayonne University Hospital, Hoboken University Hospital and Heights University Hospital in Jersey City.
