A highly disputed plan to move many of Monmouth Medical Center’s acute care services out of Long Branch overcame a significant obstacle on Thursday.
The State Health Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the state Department of Health’s recommendation to approve a Certificate of Need application to relocate hospital services.
The decision brings Monmouth Medical Center one step closer to relocating its labor and delivery, surgical care, pediatrics and other services to a new $800 million medical facility on the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls.
The application now awaits final approval from Acting Health Commissioner Jeffrey A. Brown.
“We thank the dedicated, expert staff at the New Jersey Department of Health for their thorough review and approval of the application, and also thank the members of our team along with our patients and families for their participation in the public hearing phase,“ said a spokesperson for RWJBarnabas Health, which owns Monmouth Medical Center.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to transforming health care and bringing world-class care, advanced technologies and innovative academic medicine to all residents of Monmouth County and beyond,” the spokesperson said in a statement sent to NJ Advance Media.
Before Thursday’s vote, the board reviewed hundreds of written comments and heard more than 10 hours of testimony during what board member Kevin J. Slavin called the most expansive public comment process he’s ever “participated in or even heard about in New Jersey.”
Public hearings held in November and early December drew hundreds of people with mixed opinions on the relocation. Those in support complained about aging infrastructure at Monmouth Medical Center and highlighted the need for additional space and new technology.
Opponents raised concerns about accessibility and how the move would impact other hospitals in the region, such as Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune City, Ocean University Medical Center in Brick and Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank.
The board was originally supposed to take action on the application at its Dec. 4 meeting. However, members deferred taking a vote, citing a need for additional information.
In particular, Slavin said that board members wanted more information about access to transportation, healthcare disparities and workforce and staffing plans.
On Thursday, President and CEO Eric Carney said that the project plans already includes a commitment to provide free transportation between the new hospital campus and the existing Long Branch site.
As for public transportation, Carney said the closest NJ Transit stop is in Fort Monmouth, approximately a mile from where the Vogel Medical Campus is being developed.
He said the hospital will work with the New Jersey Department of Transportation and NJ Transit to facilitate having bus stops routed to the Vogel Medical Campus.
Long Branch residents have raised concerns that the move will exacerbate disparities by making more health care difficult to access, but Carney said the relocation will actually lead to greater access for patients.
For example, he said Monmouth Medical Center averages 185 inpatients daily, 86% living outside of Long Branch.
Carney also disagreed that a relocation would overwhelm other hospitals or have a destabilizing effect on health care in the region.
He said the hospital plans to hire more staff, host student doctors and recruit from hospitals throughout the country to meet demand. At least 83% of the existing employees in Long Branch are expected to remain in their current roles.
“I think it ultimately will improve healthcare outcomes for our community,” Carney said.
Board members appeared satisfied with the additional information and ultimately accepted the Department of Health’s recommendation for approval.
“This is not just a responsible plan for Monmouth County but a forward thinking one for the residents of Monmouth County and all who will benefit,” said Slavin, former president and CEO of St Joseph’s Health.
However, the application was not approved outright. The approval is contingent on 17 conditions outlined by the state Department of Health — among them, an outreach plan to ensure residents are aware of the move, availability of no-charge transportation from Long Branch to the Vogel Medical Center Campus, an agreement to prioritize hiring current Monmouth Medical Center employees for positions at the new facility and the creation of a Community Advisory Group.
The State Health Planning Board also tacked on three more conditions:
- The continuation of outpatient services at Monmouth Medical Center in perpetuity, subject to a state-approved periodic review process.
- A documented engagement with NJ Transit to expand transportation services to the new hospital facility.
- A commitment to invest in community public health programs that focus on preventative care.
Carney said Thursday he was in full agreement with the conditions.
There will still be a range of services available at Monmouth Medical if the move is approved. The hospital will remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and maintain its current full-service emergency department.
The hospital will also continue to offer inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services, imaging services, outpatient surgery and specialty clinic services and adaptable patient rooms capable of providing intensive care.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th), one of the project’s biggest adversaries, said Thursday that he hopes Acting Health Commissioner Brown will “do the right thing and keep Monmouth Medical Center Hospital in Long Branch open.”
“The State Health Planning Board has raised serious, unresolved concerns about access to care, transportation barriers, existing health disparities, and the strain this move would place on surrounding hospitals,” Pallone said in a statement. “If the Commissioner were to decide to close the Long Branch hospital after all of that has been put plainly on the record, it would be a conscious decision to ignore the facts, the data, and the voices of this community.
“Long Branch deserves real health care access, not more excuses.”