Bankruptcy judge awards Christ Hospital to Hudson Holdco

After reopening the bidding process on Friday, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded Christ Hospital, in Jersey City, to Hudson Holdco LLC, the for-profit owner of Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center.

After reopening the bidding process on Friday, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded Christ Hospital, in Jersey City, to Hudson Holdco LLC, the for-profit owner of Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center.

Holdco outbid a joint offer from Jersey City Medical Center and Community Healthcare Associates LLC by roughly $600,000 after the Jersey City group had the “highest and best” bid during the original bankruptcy auction.

In a statement, Holdco said its “vision for the hospital’s continuation as a full-service acute care facility … will be tremendously beneficial for the residents of Jersey City and the surrounding communities in Hudson County, as well as for Christ Hospital physicians and staff.”

In a statement, CHA’s managing partners said they were “happy that our efforts pushed Christ Hospital to receive a more fair and equitable final bid.”

The CHA partners — Bill Colgan, Jeff Moll, Mike Nudo and Stephen Kirby — added they will continue to “move forward towards protecting access to health care across New Jersey.”

“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.”

David Knowlton, president and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, served as the patient care ombudsman during Pascack Valley Hospital’s bankruptcy proceedings.

“What the bankruptcy court cares about is value to the creditors and how many of the creditors can be made whole,” Knowlton said. “Bankruptcy court is not a policy group.”

In a statement, the union representing registered nurses at Christ Hospital said it was looking forward to working with Holdco.

“We reached agreements with both bidders in this process to preserve workplace rights for our members, job security for the staff and maintenance of hospital services for the community,” said Health Professionals and Allied Employees President Ann Twomey. “We intend to work with the new owners to assure a seamless transition and a continued commitment to quality at Christ Hospital.”

“Our preference was to keep Christ Hospital as a nonprofit entity, but … our understanding is that Hudson Holdco is committed to continuing the medical services at the hospital for an extended period of time, and we wish them luck in continuing the mission of Christ Hospital,” Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said in a statement.