For Sale: Christ Hospital

[MCA™]

Bankruptcy trustee calls for investigation into auction sale of Jersey City's Christ Hospital
Published: Sunday, September 30, 2012, 3:03 PM
Updated: Sunday, September 30, 2012, 3:26 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee is calling for an investigation into the recent sale of Jersey City's Christ Hospital, saying the process has been "called into question" by an email alleging the company that failed in its bid to purchase the Palisade Avenue hospital tried to "fix" the process in his company's favor.

An independent third party is needed to examine the proceedings to ensure Christ Hospital's eventual sale to Hudson Hospital Holdco was "not tainted in any way by self dealing, a power-play, or an attempt to improperly influence the sale process," writes Roberta A. Deangelis, the trustee, in Friday's 14-page filing.

The email, included in full in the filing, appears to have been sent on Sept. 12, 2012 from Warren Martin, Christ Hospital's bankruptcy attorney, to Bill Colgan, who heads Bloomfield-based Community Healthcare Associates, which partnered with the Jersey City Medical Center in a failed bid to acquire Christ Hospital.

According to the email, sent months after the sale to Holdco was finalized, Colgan had asked Martin to "fix" the auction in CHA's favor in exchange for dropping a lawsuit CHA was planning to file against Martin's firm.

"But I made sure that the Christ Hospital auction was honest and fair for all parties -- and not rigged in your favor," the email reads. "That is the only way I know how to do business." Complicating matters is a civil suit filed by Colgan and others against Martin and his Morristown law firm, Porzio, Bomberg, and Newman, on the unrelated matter referenced in Martin's email. A CHA spokesman declined to comment, citing "pending litigation." Calls placed to a Holdco spokesman and to Martin's office were not returned.

The trustee's request for an inquiry is a stunning development in the already tortured history of Christ Hospital's struggle toward financial solvency. Last summer, officials at the nonprofit hospital announced its planned acquisition by a for-profit company out of California, a deal that eventually collapsed in February after intense community opposition. A week later, the hospital filed for bankruptcy.

Two major bidders soon emerged for the 140-year-old Christ Hospital: CHA, which sought to purchase the facility and lease a portion of it to the Jersey City Medical Center for use as a nonprofit hospital; and Holdco, which owns Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center and intended to transform Christ Hospital into a for-profit entity. Holdco ended up offering the highest bid, $42.5 million. The sale was finalized by a state Superior Court judge in July.

JCMC spokesman Mark Rabson declined to comment, noting that JCMC is not cited in the court filing.

[MCA™]

Christ Hospital, on Palisade Avenue in Jersey City, is in hands of new, for-profit owner
Published: Thursday, July 19, 2012, 3:00 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Ownership of the bankrupt Christ Hospital in Jersey City has finally changed hands, with a for-profit entity taking control of the Palisade Avenue medical facility nearly one year after Christ Hospital declared itself for sale.

Hudson Hospital Opco, which is run by the owners of Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center, purchased Christ Hospital for $43.5 million in March after heated bankruptcy court proceedings.

But the change of ownership wasn’t finalized until a state Superior Court judge gave the OK this week.

Hudson Hospital Opco spokesman Spencer Baretz said the company is “proud” to take over the Palisade Avenue hospital, which last July announced it planned to transform from a nonprofit entity to a for-profit institution in order to stay open.

“Our vision for Christ Hospital’s continuation as a full-service facility and to include the hospital in our plan to create an integrated healthcare system for the county will be tremendously beneficial for the residents of Jersey City and the surrounding communities in Hudson County,” Baretz said in a statement.

He added that Hudson plans to make “investments in the hospital’s future that will be beneficial for all.”

The 140-year-old Christ Hospital becomes the fourth Hudson County nonprofit medical center in recent years to be taken over by a for-profit company. Hudson Hospital Opco’s owners have purchased three of those four.

When Christ Hospital officials announced its sale last July, it intended for the new owner to be California-based Prime Healthcare Services. But Prime, which has a controversial record in its home state, pulled out of the deal in February, leading Christ Hospital to file for bankruptcy.

Hudson Hospital Opco beat out the owners of the Jersey City Medical Center, which had partnered with a for-profit company in Bloomfield to put in a bid for Christ Hospital.

[MCA™]

Judge approves sale of Jersey City's bankrupt Christ Hospital, dismisses local group's conditions
Published: Tuesday, July 03, 2012, 8:55 AM
Updated: Tuesday, July 03, 2012, 9:00 AM
By Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal

The path has been cleared for the sale of Jersey City’s bankrupt Christ Hospital to a for-profit owner now that a Hudson County Superior Court judge approved the rescue deal Friday. Judge Hector R. Velazquez signed an order last week approving its sale to Hudson Hospital Holdco, the owners of Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center.

The federal bankruptcy court approved the $43.5 million sale in March after Christ Hospital filed for bankruptcy, but the transaction required state and Superior Court approval.

Donna Leusner, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Senior Services, said state officials expect the buyers and sellers to close the sale “sometime next week.” State health officials will then approve the license transfer to the new owners, Leusner said.

Velazquez issued more than two dozen conditions that had been set out in a letter dated June 19 from the Department of Health and Senior Services providing state approval of the deal. The conditions require the new owners of Christ Hospital to rehire at least 90 percent of existing employees, continue to operate the facility as an acute-care hospital for at least seven years, and comply with state and federal monitoring requirements.

Velazquez dismissed three additional requests for monitoring from attorney Renee Steinhagen, put forward at Friday’s hearing on behalf of New Jersey Appleseed a government transparency advocacy group where she is executive director and community group Save Christ Hospital. Steinhagen asked Velazquez to order that the state appoint a hospital monitor, set up a charitable foundation and prohibit hospital employees from sitting on the community advisory board that will be set up as a condition of the sale.

“The community is disappointed,” Steinhagen said yesterday.

Paul Bellan-Boyer, spokesman for Save Christ Hospital, a group originally formed to oppose the acquisition of the hospital by a different for-profit company, said yesterday that members of the group are pleased the hospital will continue to operate but “are concerned about how the hospital will consolidate services and access to care for area residents.”

[MCA™]

Bankruptcy judge awards Christ Hospital to Hudson Holdco, owner of hospitals in Bayonne and Hoboken
Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 3:20 PM
Updated: Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 5:50 PM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

A bankruptcy court judge in Newark this afternoon awarded bankrupt Christ Hospital to the parent company of two for-profit hospitals in Hudson County.

Judge Morris Stern chose the $43.5 million bid by Hudson Holdco, which owns and operates the Hoboken University Medical Center and the Bayonne Medical Center, over the proposal by Community Healthcare Associates, which had planned to lease the hospital to the Jersey City Medical Center.

The Holdco bid was roughly $600,000 more than the CHA bid.

In a joint statement, CHA's partners said they were disappointed with the judge's decision, but added that the bidding process was able to get Christ Hospital "a more fair and equitable final bid."

"Additionally, we are pleased that Hudson Holdco made major concessions during the bankruptcy proceedings, including commitments to protect uninsured, Charity Care, and Medicaid patients in Jersey City and begin operating as an "in-network" provider at all of their hospitals in Hudson County," the CHA partners said.

In the initial bidding last week, CHA/JCMC emerged with the best and highest offer, but the Christ Hospital Board of Trustees still recommended that the hospital be sold to Hudson Holdco. That prompted CHA officials to ask that the bidding be reopened.

After a live bidding process on Friday, Holdco was deemed to have the best and highest offer.

Jersey City Medical Center officials have contended that if Hudson Holdco was chosen that would leave Hudson County with just two non-profit hospitals, JCMC and Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen. Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center, HUMC and BMC were recently converted to for-profit hospitals.

In a statement, JCMC spokesman Mark Rabson said JCMC was motivated to bid for Christ Hospital in an effort to keep it open as a non-profit facility. JCMC’s mission was strengthened by participating in the bidding process, Rabson added.

“Our bid reflected our commitment to those with and without insurance while preserving jobs and assuring the long term success of Christ Hospital,” he said.

Paul Hebert, a spokesman for Christ Hospital, said that hospital officials are glad that the judge selected the proposal that the board of trustees and the hospital staff endorsed.

[propscene]

       

Peter Kelly, hell of a guy.

[MCA™]

In reversal, HUMC owner emerges as top bidder for bankrupt Christ Hospital
Published: Friday, March 23, 2012, 6:58 PM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

A marathon session in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark today ended with Hudson Holdco, the owners of Hoboken University Medical Center, emerging with the top bid for bankrupt Christ Hospital, at $45.3 million.

It was a stunning turnaround from earlier this week, when a two-day auction sale of the hospital ended Tuesday with Hudson Holdco’s lone competitor, Bloomfield-based Community Healthcare Associates, offering a top bid of $40.5 million.

Hudson Holdco, which also owns Bayonne Medical Center, pledges in its bid to re-hire 100 percent of Christ Hospital’s union workers and 90 percent of its non-union staff.

Though the hospital board makes a recommendation about which bid to accept, Judge Morris Stern ultimately decides who winds up owning Christ Hospital.

The 140-year-old Palisade Avenue medical facility filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month after a deal to be acquired by for-profit chain Prime Healthcare Services fell through. A number of interested buyers soon emerged, though only Hudson Holdco and CHA offered bids last week.

CHA declined to comment after today’s proceedings.

The Bloomfield company, which owns the Barnert Medical Arts Complex in Paterson, seemed confident earlier this week that it would end up acquiring Christ Hospital after Tuesday’s auction sale ended with CHA as the top bidder.

But then yesterday, the Christ Hospital Board of Trustees voted unanimously to recommend Hudson Holdco’s bid, which before today’s hearing was about $1 million less than CHA’s. The board said Hudson Holdco “would best ensure Christ Hospital's mission to continue providing quality patient care as a full-service acute care hospital.”

That recommendation led CHA to request this morning that the bidding process reopen, and when it did, Hudson Holdco ended up with the top offer. Its $45.3 million bid tops CHA’s final offer by about $600,000.

The for-profit Hudson Holdco owns both HUMC and Bayonne Medical Center. CHA hopes to acquire Christ Hospital and lease it to the Jersey City Medical Center.

Both parties are due back in court on Tuesday at noon.

[MCA™]

Christ Hospital board of trustees endorses Hudson Holdco purchase bid
Published: Thursday, March 22, 2012, 11:47 PM
Updated: Friday, March 23, 2012, 12:08 AM
The Jersey Journal

The Christ Hospital board of trustees voted Thursday evening to endorse Hudson Holdco's purchase bid, a spokeswoman for the hospital said in a late-night email to The Jersey Journal.

"After thoughtful consideration and review of both proposals, it was decided that Hudson Holdco's bid would best ensure Christ Hospital's mission to continue providing quality patient care as a full-service acute care hospital,'' vice president for foundation and marketing  Paula Nevoso wrote. "Both financial and non-financial considerations were reviewed by the board in coming to this decision."

Hudson Holdco is made up of the principals who own the for-profit Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center.

A U.S. bankruptcy court judge is expected to make the final decision on Friday.

A live auction for the hospital was held on Tuesday with the "highest and best'' bid at the close of the day being put in by the Bloomfield-based Community Healthcare Associates, which offered $40 million and said it would lease the Palisade Avenue facility to the non-profit Jersey City Medical Center.

When news of the ending bid was reported, Wednesday, the head of Christ Hospital stridently noted that the process wasn't over.

Jersey Journal staff writer Terrence McDonald, who has been following the hospital's attempts to find a buyer, will be in bankruptcy court in Newark Friday to report on the judge's ruling.

[MCA™]

Officials of Christ Hospital and the Bloomfield-based company purported to have offered its 'highest and best' bid for purchase deny report
Published: Thursday, March 22, 2012, 3:00 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

After two long days of negotiations, Bloomfield-based Community Healthcare Associates submitted the “highest and best” bid to purchase bankrupt Christ Hospital in Jersey City for a little over $40 million, a source close to the negotiations told The Jersey Journal yesterday.

Officials with Christ Hospital and Hudson Holdco, the second bidder, denied the report soon after it appeared yesterday on nj.com, stressing that the hospital’s board of trustees has to review the bids before the board makes a recommendation to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge about which bid is the highest and best.

CHA, which owns the Barnert Medical Arts Complex in Paterson and the William B. Kessler Memorial Hospital in Hammonton, plans to lease the Palisade Avenue medical facility to the Jersey City Medical Center.

In a statement, Christ Hospital CEO Peter Kelly called any reports that a bidder has been selected “misleading.”

“We regret that a misleading, inaccurate, and premature press report has given the impression that a decision has already been made prior to the completion of the bankruptcy process,” Kelly said.

CHA declined to comment.

The auction, pitting CHA against Hudson Holdco, which owns Hoboken University Medical Center and Bayonne Medical Center, began Monday morning at the Morristown offices of Christ Hospital attorneys, and went late into the night Monday without a resolution.

The bidding process ended at around 11 p.m. Tuesday, with CHA emerging with the “highest and best” offer, the source said.

Christ Hospital, claiming $38 million in assets and $115 million in liabilities, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month after for-profit chain Prime Healthcare Services withdrew its bid to acquire the 140-year-old hospital. Prime officials cited “political forces” opposed to the acquisition as its reason for declining to purchase the medical facility.

JCMC CEO Joe Scott declined to comment, saying any bids are just “the first step” in a process that will be resolved in bankruptcy court.

“We just want to be respectful of the process,” Scott said.

The bid has to be accepted by a bankruptcy judge before it is finalized. A hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. No time has been set.

[MCA™]

Buyer for Christ Hospital in Jersey City to be chosen Monday
Published: Friday, March 16, 2012, 3:03 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

The likely new owner of Christ Hospital in Jersey City will be revealed at a live auction on Monday. The 140-year-old medical facility on Palisade Avenue filed for bankruptcy protection last month, almost immediately after a deal to be acquired by for-profit chain Prime Healthcare Services fell through.

On Monday, an auction at the Morristown offices of Christ Hospital attorneys will decide which bidder will acquire the financially beleaguered medical center.

Among the reported bidders are the Jersey City Medical Center, partnering with Bloomfield-based Community Healthcare Associates; Hudson Holdco, owners of Hoboken University Medical Center and Bayonne Medical Center; and the owners of Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center.

CHA and JCMC officials say what’s at stake is the future of health care in Hudson County.

“Christ has to stay viable for Jersey City to continue to have high-quality health care,” JCMC CEO Joe Scott told The Jersey Journal last week. Scott said he thinks JCMC can staff about 150 beds at Christ Hospital, in addition to moving JCMC’s pediatric-care staff there and consolidating some other services.

“One hospital, two campuses. That’s our vision,” he said.

Bill Colgan, a managing partner of CHA, noted that the JCMC/CHA bid for Christ Hospital is the only offer that would keep the hospital a nonprofit institution. CHA’s vision of the future of Christ Hospital is similar to the hospital’s current role in the community, Colgan said.

“There’s no talk about any immediate change,” he said.

CHA, which would own Christ Hospital and lease a portion to JCMC, owns two medical facilities: the Barnert Medical Arts Complex in Paterson and the William B. Kessler Memorial Hospital in Hammonton.

Richard Lipski, a Woodcliff Lake-based anesthesiologist whose MHA LLC owns Meadowlands Hospital, said his plan for Christ Hospital is similar to his plan for Meadowlands, which MHA acquired in 2010 from the owners of JCMC for $17.55 million. Lipski said MHA turned a struggling nonprofit into a successful for-profit hospital, and it can do the same for Christ Hospital.

“We know how to organize, and we hope we can succeed there, too,” he said.

Hudson Holdco did not return requests for comment.

Renee Steinhagen, who heads the nonprofit law center NJ Appleseed, said she favors JCMC’s bid to acquire Christ Hospital. She noted that she hasn’t seen the specifics of the bids.

“I want it to remain a nonprofit operated in the model of the way Jersey City (Medical Center) has been operating,” she said. “The models of the for-profits that we’re faced with are not models of for-profits that I endorse.” NJ Appleseed opposed the proposed Prime takeover and Hudson Holdco’s bid for HUMC.

After Monday’s auction, a hearing to confirm the results will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, 50 Walnut St., in Newark. According to Scott, the bankruptcy judge can accept the winning bid or reject it.

[MCA™]

Christ Hospital says that California company pulled out of purchase deal because it feared a political fight that might drag on
Published: Thursday, February 16, 2012, 3:01 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Prime Healthcare Services withdrew its bid to purchase Christ Hospital in Jersey City because it believed there were “political forces working against it,” according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last week.

The 34-page filing, which includes another 239 pages of exhibits, gives some sense of the precarious financial situation faced by Christ Hospital before it decided to seek a bankruptcy-fueled restructuring. As of Dec. 31, 2011, the hospital had $38 million in assets and $115 million in liabilities, according to the filing.

The hospital had drawn up a 2012 budget that would have eliminated 67 positions, the filing states.

The financial picture was so bleak that, only five days before Prime formally withdrew its bid, the California-based healthcare chain advanced the hospital $1 million just so the hospital could make payroll, according to the filing.

The document also details previously unreported efforts on the part of Christ Hospital to continue operation before Prime’s offer. In March 2011, the hospital entertained a possible acquisition by the St. Barnabas Healthcare System, which includes Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, an acquisition that was later put on hold by St. Barnabas.

A similar bid to join forces with Hoboken University Medical Center also fell short.

Christ Hospital did not return a request for comment.

In July 2011, hospital CEO Peter Kelly announced the proposed acquisition by Prime, saying the sale would be necessary for the medical center’s short- and long-term future.

Critics immediately pounced on Prime, noting reports from California that the company was accused of everything from canceling contracts when it takes over hospitals to boosting revenue by admitting an unusually large number of patients from its emergency rooms into its hospital beds.

Though Prime wanted the state to approve the hospital sale by December 2011, state officials in January said the approval process would not end until May or June, according to the filing.

“Prime interpreted this news (rightly or wrongly) to mean that the state was not supporting the Prime transaction,” the filing reads.

Health Professionals and Allied Employees, the union that represents Christ Hospital nurses, opposed the Prime acquisition. Spokeswoman Jeanne Otersen said Prime’s reluctance to continue with the proposed sale beyond January illustrates its inappropriateness as a buyer.

“If this is a company that wouldn’t wait until May, then how would we expect them to be here for the long term?” Otersen said.

Prime CEO Lex Reddy said in a Feb. 2 statement that its withdrawn bid would likely lead to Christ filing for bankruptcy.

“It is unfortunate things did not work out the way we had hoped,” Reddy said.

[MCA™]

Jersey City police probe "threatening" letter that blames individual nurse who's on union's executive board for killing sale of Christ Hospital and for its subsequent bankruptcy filing
Published: Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 3:00 AM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

A Christ Hospital nurse who is a union official received a threatening letter yesterday blaming her for the collapse of a deal to sell the hospital and the hospital’s subsequent bankruptcy filing, officials said.

The 48-year-old Bayonne woman walked into the North District Police station at 7:15 a.m. and reported the letter she found upon arriving for work at the Jersey City Heights hospital, reports said.

The nurse is on the executive board of Health Professionals and Allied Employees, the union that represents nurses at the hospital. The union has opposed the proposed sale of the hospital to the for-profit chain Prime Healthcare Services. News the deal had fallen through surfaced last week.

Union spokeswoman Jeanne Otersen would not characterize the letter yesterday, saying she did not want to impede the police investigation. Police did not release the letter, but Otersen said the recipient “believed it was threatening.”

“There has been an unfortunate atmosphere created in the hospital by the administration that anyone who questions this deal was somehow responsible for it falling apart,” Otersen said. She said the state’s “careful, and legitimate scrutiny” of the proposed sale is what doomed it.

A spokesman for the hospital declined to comment on the letter.

[MCA™]

Christ Hospital in Jersey City files for bankruptcy, pledges to remain part of community
Published: Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 11:30 AM
Updated: Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 11:46 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Christ Hospital, the nonprofit Palisade Avenue medical center that has been a mainstay in the Jersey City Heights since 1872, has filed for bankruptcy. The news comes less than a week after the hospital’s board, which had been hoping to be acquired by for-profit California chain Prime Healthcare Services, said the filing might be necessary.

Hospital CEO Peter Kelly pledged in a statement that Christ Hospital will continue to provide “state-of-the-art health care.”

“Christ Hospital has been a central part of Hudson County for nearly 140 years, and the residents of Hudson County should know that Christ Hospital will continue to fulfill its mission as a community healthcare provider,” Kelly said.

Last week, The Jersey Journal reported that Prime, a controversial healthcare chain that runs 14 hospitals in California, had withdrawn its bid to acquire Christ Hospital. Hospital officials, when they announced the proposed acquisition last summer, said it was vital to the long-term financial stability of Christ Hospital.

Prime withdrew its bid after it became clear that the community wants Christ Hospital to remain a nonprofit, Kelly said last week.

[MCA™]

Save Christ Hospital, group that opposed sale of Jersey City hospital to California healthcare chain, plans rally to ask hopsital to work with community in reorganization plans
Published: Monday, February 06, 2012, 3:00 AM
The Jersey Journal

A community group that opposed the now-scuttled sale of Christ Hospital to a for-profit California chain will hold a rally tomorrow to address the hospital’s announcement that it might file for bankruptcy.

Save Christ Hospital will meet at 2 p.m. in front of Christ Hospital, 176 Palisade Ave., Jersey City, according to the group’s president, Paul Bellan-Boyer.

Bellan-Boyer said in a release that he wants to ask the hospital’s board of trustees to “work with, not exclude, the community in its reorganization plans.”

The hospital’s board of trustees on Wednesday night unanimously approved filing for bankruptcy, “if needed.” The action came the same day The Jersey Journal broke the news that Prime Healthcare Services, the for-profit chain, had withdrawn its bid to purchase the Jersey City hospital. Prime withdrew, according to Christ CEO Peter Kelly, because they recognized that the Hudson County community wanted the hospital to remain nonprofit. According to Bellan-Boyer, however, the sale couldn’t “withstand the light of public scrutiny.”

On Friday, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy lent his support to the $104 million bid the Jersey City Medical Center made for Christ Hospital last week.

[MCA™]

California health-care chain withdraws offer to buy Christ Hospital in Jersey City
Published: Thursday, February 02, 2012, 3:03 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

The California health-care chain seeking to purchase Christ Hospital has pulled out of the deal, ending a six-month clash between hospital officials who said the deal was necessary to keep the hospital open and community groups that feared the proposed sale would lead to limited health-care options for Hudson County residents.

Christ Hospital CEO Peter Kelly said Prime Healthcare Services withdrew its bid “out of respect for the wishes of” the community members who objected to a takeover of the nonprofit Palisade Avenue hospital by a for-profit entity.

“I still believe it would be a good thing for the hospital, for the community and for the state,” Kelly said yesterday. “ ‘What now?’ is ... a very good question.”

Opponents of the proposed sale were pleased with the turn of events, saying the acquisition would have been a “bad deal” for patients. Paul Bellan-Boyer -- who led Save Christ Hospital, a local group formed to oppose the sale -- said the deal “did not withstand the light of public scrutiny.”

“With other potential buyers, and the hospital’s financial fragility, it is important that the next steps be in the right direction,” Bellan-Boyer said in a statement.

Kelly announced the proposed sale last July, saying it was the best way for the hospital to survive in the near and long term. He said Christ ended $4 million in the red in 2010, even including a $7 million state grant.

Opponents immediately attacked Prime’s record in California, where reports say it is being investigated for possible Medicare fraud. Sources say a Jan. 25 letter from Deputy Attorney General Jay A. Ganzman to a lawyer representing Christ Hospital could hold some clues to the real reasons for Prime pulling out.

The 10-page missive lists dozens of questions and concerns that state officials had about the deal, including the details regarding Prime’s proposal to sell the hospital’s property to Medical Properties Trust, an Alabama-based real-estate firm that would have then leased the land back to Prime.

An appraisal of Christ Hospital by a firm that received an “exclusive leasing assignment” to a Prime-owned shopping center in Arizona also raised eyebrows.

Kelly denies that Prime withdrew its bid because of the state’s questions.

“We provided all the information always readily,” Kelly said, adding that the hospital knew from the beginning that the state’s approval process involved “tough questions.”

In partnership with Community Healthcare Associates (CHA), the Jersey City Medical Center made a $104 million bid for Christ Hospital last week.

JCMC spokesman Mark Rabson said in a statement yesterday that the JCMC’s purchase proposal is built on four tenets:

Continuing to operate Christ Hospital as a nonprofit acute care community hospital for at least 30 years; creating jobs while keeping the current labor unions in place; building a positive relationship with medical staff; and expanding Christ Hospital’s role as a health-care leader and educator in Jersey City, Hudson County and New Jersey.

[MCA™]

Jersey City Medical Center offers to buy nearby Christ Hospital for $104 million
Published: Thursday, January 26, 2012, 12:26 PM
Updated: Thursday, January 26, 2012, 12:26 PM
By The Jersey Journal

The Jersey City Medical Center is offering $104 million to buy nearby Christ Hospital, a facility that is working to be taken over by a for-profit healthcare company. The JCMC, which is partnering with Community Healthcare Associates in the bid, would keep Christ Hospital as a non-profit acute care facility for at least 30 years and maintain the existing unions, according to a statement released this morning.

"In a letter of intent that was delivered to Christ Hospital President and CEO Peter Kelly, we set forth our vision for the future of the facility and its critical role in providing healthcare services for Hudson County,'' JCMC President and CEO Joseph Scott writes in the statement. "The proposal lays out four tenets: to continue operating Christ as a non-profit acute care community hospital for a period of not less than 30 years; to preserve and create jobs while maintaining the existing unions; to continue to build a positive working relationship with the medical staff; and to expand Christ’s role as a healthcare leader and educator in Jersey City, Hudson County and New Jersey.''

The Bloomfield-based CHA, which describes itself on its website as a "healthcare-oriented consulting and real estate development firm,'' will provide the funding and capital for the $104,350,000 purchase, the statement said.  That includes an agreement to cover operating losses during the transition period to avoid any disruption of services.

The JCMC and CHA had partnered in a failed bid last year to take over Hoboken University Medical Center, which ultimately opted to be purchased by the principals of Bayonne Medical Center.

In July, Christ Hospital officials announced they were in talks with California-based Prime Healthcare Services. The sale, officials said, is necessary for the Palisade Avenue hospital's "economic stability.'' The hospital has already applied to the state for approval to sell to Prime Healthcare.

JCMC's Scott told The Jersey Journal that he hopes Christ will consider the offer.

"If something happens to Christ Hospital, there will be a healthcare crisis in Hudson County because our hospital will be overwhelmed with patients,'' he said.

Kelly could not immediately be reached for comment.

The sale to Prime Healthcare has raised some concern in the community. Last month, for example, the hospital announced 50 layoffs as a rally of about 50 people protested the impending sale. Little more than a week later, Kelly told a community meeting of about 100 that the sale of the hospital is necessary to keep it open.

[duke_of_earl]

This is Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit.

Prime Healthcare is sleazier than sleazier. How the hell is this going through? (rhetorical question).

Overbilling and billing for procedures that were never performed is the new normal for hospitals.  Glancing around on your link, I see nothing that is atypical.  If most people bothered to check their bills to see what their insurance paid (and actually cared), this practice would die a quick death.

duke

[MCA™]

Owners of Hoboken, Bayonne hospitals say they'd like to buy Jersey City's Christ Hospital
Dec 27, 2011

HUDSON COUNTY - In a letter sent to Christ Hospital CEO Peter Kelly, Hudson Hospital Holdco LLC has asked for an opportunity to make a bid to purchase the struggling Jersey City medical facility. Hudson Hospital Holdco already owns Bayonne Medical Center and earlier this year bought Hoboken University Medical Center. (read the full article)

[propscene]

This is Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit.

Prime Healthcare is sleazier than sleazier. How the hell is this going through? (rhetorical question).

[MCA™]

CEO of Christ Hospital defends deal to sell Jersey City hospital to California-based Prime Healthcare Services, now undergoing FBI investigation of its billing practices
Published: Thursday, December 15, 2011, 3:01 AM
Updated: Thursday, December 15, 2011, 12:16 PM
Travis Fedschun/The Jersey Journal

Amid a standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 last night, Peter Kelly, the CEO of Christ Hospital in Jersey City, defended the proposed $15.8 million sale of the hospital to California-based Prime Healthcare Services at a community meeting at the Abundant Joy Christian Center on Bowers Street.

Among the critics of the proposed sale in the audience was Joseph Scott, president and CEO of LibertyHealth, which owns and operates Jersey City Medical Center. Kelly emphasized that the sale of the hospital is necessary to keep it open, something he said he cannot guarantee without the sale.

“We cannot continue to sustain losses but also sustain a future. For-profit ownership is not the final solution, but it does play an important role in keeping the hospital open,” said Kelly.

Audience members, who at times shouted at each other and at Kelly, raised questions over the proposed deal to run Christ Hospital as an acute-care facility for a minimum of five years. Many wanted to know if Prime could honor the five-year deal and then close the hospital.

“Why can’t you give us a 30-year agreement, or are you trying to get the deal done as soon as possible?” asked Joel Torres, a Heights resident.

Kelly responded that he couldn’t guarantee 30 years into the future, but that he was “just trying to get a future.”

Other questions came from the proposed sale of the hospital’s property to an Alabama-based real estate investment trust. If the sale and the lease-back plan go through, Medical Properties Trust, the Alabama firm, would own Christ Hospital as well as Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center.

But Scott, who held talks with Kelly over the summer regarding the future of both hospitals, said the proposed deal with Prime Healthcare has more questions than answers.

“Why isn’t there an opportunity to explore all the options? Without going through that process you can’t say that Prime is the best option at this time,” said Scott.

A published report yesterday by California Watch, a media partner for The San Diego Union-Tribune, said that the FBI has started interviewing witnesses about billing practices at Prime Healthcare Services in regards to charging Medicare for treating elderly patients with rare medical conditions at higher rates than other California hospitals.

Asked about the allegations against Prime Healthcare, Kelly said: “Our perspective is that we’ve looked at them as allegations. We wouldn’t have pursued this opportunity if it was not with people that have a demonstrated reputation for providing quality healthcare.”

[MCA™]

Christ Hospital in Jersey City announces 50 jobs will be cut as protesters rally against impending sale
Published: Tuesday, December 06, 2011, 3:03 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Hours after Christ Hospital officials announced 50 layoffs, about a dozen protesters stood in front of the Jersey City nonprofit hospital yesterday to signal opposition to its impending sale to a for-profit health care chain.

The goal of the demonstration, organized by a group dubbed Occupy Jersey City, was to show that city residents are concerned about another Hudson County nonprofit hospital being taken over by a for-profit company, protesters said.

Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center have both been taken over by for-profit companies.

Actor and community activist Erik Anders-Nilsson said last night that if Christ Hospital’s sale is approved, it could lead to the hospital to accepting fewer charity cases.

Anders-Nilsson was surprised to hear news that the hospital planned to shed 50 jobs.

“That is not cool,” he said. “We don’t want 50 jobs slashed. We would like 150 jobs added.”

Christ Hospital CEO Peter Kelly has said the impending sale to Prime Healthcare Services, if approved by the state, would not result in fewer charity cases. He called the sale essential to the hospital’s survival.

As for the 50 layoffs, Kelly said in a statement yesterday that the medical facility is “greatly challenged” by the current economic climate.

“We have made a prudent decision to be proactive in reducing the hospital’s overall expenses to meet the objectives of the 2012 budget,” he said. “We continue our commitment to the community by serving all residents of Hudson County.”

Hudson County Central Labor Council president Peter A. Busacca said he hopes Christ Hospital’s mission doesn’t change if it transfers ownership to Prime. Fewer charity-care cases at the Palisade Avenue hospital would overburden the Jersey City Medical Center, Busacca, 62, said last night.

“I want this hospital to stay how it is,” he said.

[MCA™]

Occupy New Jersey to stage rally at Jersey City's Christ Hospital
Published: Monday, December 05, 2011, 3:00 AM
By Jersey Journal Editorial

Occupy Jersey City is set to weigh in today on the pending sale of Christ Hospital in Jersey City to a California-based company.

The group, an off-shoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement, plans to hold its daily “general assembly” meeting in front of the Palisade Avenue hospital from 4:45 p.m. to 7 p.m.

In light of the hospital’s board of trustees announcing plans to sell the 140-year-old nonprofit facility to Prime Heathcare Services, a for-profit chain, the Occupy Jersey City group is pushing for a “full and transparent legal process that allows for community and union input into the sale.”

“It’s important to keep the hospital open and fully staffed. I know the importance of it remaining functional for locals,” Miguel Peralta, an activist with Occupy Jersey City and a former employee at Christ Hospital, said in a press release.

Christ Hospital CEO Peter Kelly has said that the hospital’s survival depends on this sale.

Christ Hospital is located at 176 Palisade Ave. between Laidlaw and Beacon avenues.

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