The New Jersey Department of Health approved Jan. 8 an application by RWJBarnabas Health to shift many of Monmouth Medical Center’s services from Long Branch to a new hospital in Tinton Falls.
Among those announcing the approval was Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., who represents the Bayshore and oceanfront areas of Monmouth County as well as most of Middlesex County. Pallone, who opposed the withdrawal of services from the Long Branch facility, fought to preserve acute-care inpatient hospital services at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch.
Pallone said he brokered an agreement with Monmouth Medical Center operator RWJBarnabas Health, Gov. Phil Murphy, and New Jersey legislative leaders on legislation that would preserve acute-care inpatient hospital services at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch.
The measure would establish a pilot program at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch. RWJBarnabas Health would be able to operate acute-care hospital services at both Monmouth Medical Center Hospital in Long Branch and the proposed facility in Tinton Falls for at least 10 years after relocation with the ability for the commissioner of health to extend the pilot program further.
“While the state commissioner of health approved RWJ Barnabas’s application for a new hospital in Tinton Falls, they also required that the emergency department and outpatient surgery services, including specialty clinics and imaging services, remain in Long Branch indefinitely,” said Pallone. “In addition, the behavioral health hospital with both inpatient and outpatient services stays.”
Pallone added that the combination of acute care inpatient services under the legislation along with the requirements under the application of approval for outpatient services would leave the Long Branch hospital with adequate medical service to carry out its mission for the Long Branch community.
In December, the state Health Planning Board voted unanimously to back the DOH’s recommendation to approve a Certificate of Need application to relocate Monmouth Medical Center’s labor and delivery, surgical care, pediatrics and other services to a new $800 million medical facility on the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls, scheduled to open in 2032. The board said the relocation from Long Branch to Tinton Falls “will not result in a negative impact on the community, on patients that the hospital has historically served, or other hospitals.”
“This is a major step forward for transforming health care for our patients and the communities we serve,” said MMC President and CEO Eric Carney in a statement. “After years of careful planning, rigorous analysis, and extensive community input, this decision clears the way for a new, state-of-the-art, acute-care hospital in Tinton Falls and much-needed improvements to our existing site in Long Branch. These investments will bring the latest advanced technology and treatments, modern facilities, and world-class academic medicine closer to home for more patients.”
The new facility in Tinton Falls will be a 252-bed acute care hospital accessible from the Garden State Parkway and other major roadways including Route 36 and Route 18. The new hospital will feature all private rooms, a full-service emergency department, state-of-the-art operating rooms, labor and delivery and postpartum suites, and inpatient pediatric care including a NICU and PICU.
In the application of Certificate of Need submitted in January 2024, Monmouth Medical Center said, “The decision to relocate select acute care functions to Tinton Falls was made with a view of how best to serve the residents of our Central Monmouth County service area in a manner assuring access and to develop the most cost effective and efficient project.”
MMC said it plans significant investments in the existing facility in Long Branch in technology and facility enhancements “to strengthen our ability to meet community and patient needs.”
MMC said that, through partnerships with organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Shore House, it is investing in youth mentorship, mental health support, and family wellness programs.
Hackensack Meridian Health in a statement said the plan to relocate the Monmouth Medical Center from Long Branch “does not alleviate Hackensack Meridian Health’s concerns about the impact on patient access, emergency response times, and the region’s hospital capacity … Many community members already face significant transportation challenges, and moving a full-service hospital further away from where people live and work will only exacerbate these barriers to care.”
