Dr. Nizar Kifaieh, CEO and president of Hudson Regional Health, parent of the financially troubled Heights University Hospital in Jersey City, said Oct. 22 the health care provider “began the process of implementing a path to stabilization in order to ensure that it can continue to serve as an acute care hospital.”
The plan could lead to layoffs at the acute care facility. Kifaieh added that Hudson Regional Health’s mission is “to provide high-quality health care to the residents of Jersey City and Hudson County, and this plan allows us to do so responsibly.”
Kifaieh said in the statement that Hudson Regional Health will ensure that emergency services remain active at Heights University Hospital including an emergency room, critical care and medical-surgical services, adequate operating rooms, behavioral health, and other as it winds down some non-essential services.
The Hudson Regional Health CEO said that for the employees affected by the restructuring, the health-care system anticipates that “the majority will be offered continued employment within the HRH system. “We also plan to host job fairs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, information that will be sent out to all employees,” he said.
A spokesperson for Hudson Regional Health said the vast majority of the several hundred employees at Heights University Hospital “will be absorbed into the Hudson Regional Health system as part of the stabilization process…It is anticipated that the majority of employees, including nurses, will be offered continued employment within the HRH system.”
The spokesperson added that the Hudson Regional Health is reviewing “all service lines to determine which should remain active as part of the hospital’s stabilization plan. Essential areas, including the Emergency Department, critical care, medical-surgical units, behavioral health, and necessary operating rooms, will remain operational.”
Hudson Regional Health operates four acute care facilities comprising Secaucus University Hospital, Bayonne University Hospital, Hoboken University Hospital and Heights University Hospital in Jersey City.
Kifaieh said he expected the state to support the stabilization plan that would give “legislative leaders confidence that the hospital has a path toward.” He also mentioned that the system was receiving “a significant, new investment from our Chairman, Yan Moshe” without being specific. The Hudson Regional Health spokesperson said specific figures will be finalized as the plan advances in collaboration with the state.
Debbie White, president of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) that represents union workers at the hospital, was critical of the steps being taken by Hudson Regional Health.
“HRH assured both the Department of Health and the employees’ unions that it had the funds, resources, and commitment necessary to turn the system around,” said White in a statement. “We call on state officials and regulators to act now: hold HRH accountable, demand full transparency, and ensure a thorough public review before any major changes are implemented. The health and well-being of our community is at stake.”
An HPAE spokesperson said there are 205 registered nurses working at the hospital.
The hard-pressed medical facility received $2 million in stop-gap funding from the state earlier this week to fund critical services for about the following two weeks. Kifaieh made that announcement along with Hudson County Executive Craig Guy and state Senators Raj Mukherji, Brian Stack and Angela McKnight. The three legislators requested an appropriation of $25 million to keep the health care facility open.
Kifaieh appreciated the partial funding but cautioned that the temporary solution “will not meaningfully address the dire financial challenges facing the hospital, most of which we inherited from the previous operators.”
Hudson Regional Health assumed control of the former CarePoint hospitals in October 2024 and has invested more than $300 million into the system.
Despite those 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 University Hospital patients are uninsured, low-income, or otherwise vulnerable residents, leading to low reimbursement rates, a situation further complicated by cuts in Charity Care funding and Medicaid.
Health Professionals and Allied Employees, founded in 1974, is the largest union of registered nurses and health care professionals in New Jersey. It also represents health-care workers in southeastern Pennsylvania, for a total of more than 15,000 nurses, social workers, therapists, technicians, medical researchers, and other health care professionals in hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, blood banks, and university research facilities.
