RWJBarnabas to acquire two CarePoint hospitals in Hudson County

RWJBarnabas Health said Oct. 22 that it signed a letter of intent to buy Christ Hospital in Jersey City and Hoboken University Medical Center from Hudson County-based CarePoint Health. The two companies said they expect to reach a definitive agreement by the end of the year.

In a joint press release, CarePoint and RWJBarnabas said the non-binding LOI sets forth a basic structure for the proposed transaction and puts the institutions on a path toward reaching a definitive agreement, expected before the end of the year. CarePoint Health has initiated a separate process seeking a strategic partner for Bayonne Medical Center.

According to industry sources, several organizations have expressed interest in the Bayonne facility.

The LOI is the first step in the process of evaluating and designing a new relationship that will enhance health care services for Hudson County and North Jersey. Both parties said that they will now engage in a due diligence process to define the specifics of the relationship. Approvals will be necessary from state and federal officials, and others, before the transaction is considered complete.

Under the terms of the LOI, the services and resources for Hoboken University Medical Center and Christ Hospital as full-service providers of acute health care services for the Hudson County community will be enhanced.

RWJBarnabas Health has a service area of nine counties covering five million people. The system includes 11 acute care hospitals, three acute care children’s hospitals, and a pediatric rehabilitation hospital, among many other facilities. RWJBH also has a partnership with Rutgers University.

According to CarePoint Health, Hoboken University Medical Center was New Jersey’s first hospital and has been providing care since 1863. It features 333 licensed beds and a transitional care unit with 15-licensed long-term care beds, a 34-bay emergency room and dedicated OB-GYN emergency department, and private rooms in its family birth unit which deliver 1,100 births annually.

More than 44,000 patients are treated annually at the hospital, which is also home to specialty medicine including child and adult behavioral health, women’s health, wound care, orthopedics, robotic surgery and other surgical subspecialties.

The affiliated HUMC Neighborhood Health Center serves the uninsured and underinsured with more than 22,000 visits annually for primary and specialty care.

Christ Hospital has been serving the Jersey City community for more than 140 years and was a founding member of the New Jersey Hospital Association. The 362-bed facility treats 47,667 patients annually and is home to a state-certified stroke center and primary angioplasty center, an emergency room team and an OB-GYN emergency department.

The hospital, with 650 births annually, also features specialty medicine for child and adult behavioral health, women’s health, heart and vascular care, dialysis, as well as a sleep center and surgical specialties. The Christ Hospital Neighborhood Health Center provides primary and specialty healthcare services for the uninsured and underinsured in the community, treating 10,000 patients annually.

The announcement comes in the wake of the several recent high-profile mergers.

On Oct. 15 Englewood Health and Hackensack Meridian Health announced signing a definitive agreement to merge and on Oct. 10 Trinitas Regional Medical Center and RWJBarnabas Health signed a letter of intent whereby Trinitas and its affiliates will become a part of RWJBarnabas Health.

In September, Hackensack Meridian Health announced the formation of a clinical and strategic partnership with St. Joseph’s Health in Paterson.