Photo by Jordan Coll / SOC Images.
After 154 years, the closure of Heights University Hospital (HRH)—long known to generations as Christ Hospital—came to be, after its owners shuttered the last remaining emergency department.
Jersey City officials warned that the city, home to more than 300,000 residents, would be left with just one remaining hospital, and healthcare advocates argue that a population of that size requires at least 700 hospital beds; HRH only had 350 beds.
Jersey City Medical Center, operated by RWJBarnabas Health, is the sole remaining hospital in the city.
“The residents of Jersey City’s Heights neighborhood will feel the consequences of HRH’s decisions tonight. Longer ambulance rides. Fewer beds. A community left without the care it was promised,” said Jersey City Mayor James Solomon in a presser.
“The people in the Heights deserve better, and my administration is committed to restoring comprehensive, high quality healthcare to the neighborhood.”
On Saturday, Jersey City filed an emergency injunction in Hudson County Superior Court, seeking a court order to halt the closure and keep the hospital operational.
The request was denied.
“We disagree with the ruling, but we respect it,” said the mayor. “What we will not respect is Hudson Regional Health’s conduct throughout the entire process.”
Solomon indicated to Slice of Culture that the city is reviewing remaining legal options, including the potential use of eminent domain, which would allow the city to seize control of the hospital and its operations in the interest of public need.
Weeks Leading Up To The Closure
Hudson Regional Health spokesperson Vijay Chaudhuri said the hospital’s mounting financial losses posed a serious threat to the broader health system, potentially jeopardizing operations at its other facilities in Secaucus, Bayonne and Hoboken.
The hospital announced it would permanently close its emergency room and all remaining medical services at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 14.
“Since acquiring Heights University Hospital, HRH and Chairman Yan Moshe have invested more than $100 million in an aggressive effort to stabilize operations—rebuilding service lines, securing labor agreements and recruiting physicians, among other initiatives,” Chaudhuri said.
“Despite this historic level of investment, Heights University Hospital recorded a severe loss of $74 million last year, with the Emergency Department projected to lose an additional $30 million this year.”
HRH began shuttering the hospital just weeks after filing a certificate of need for closure with the New Jersey Department of Health, a move which state and city officials alike say violated state law. Under state regulations, a hospital must complete a certificate of need process and receive state approval prior to closing.
“This was an illegal closure. We have state laws that should prevent what just happened at Christ Hospital,” said Assemblywoman Katie Brennan (D-Jersey City).
“The owners of Heights University Hospital closed this facility without following the procedures required under state law and without any plan to make sure Jersey City residents can access the care they need. They acted in bad faith and they should be held accountable.”
State Senator Raj Mukherji (D-32) attended the rally rebuking the actions of HRH. “People will die at the consequence of this closure,” said the senator in a charged atmosphere.
“We call on healthcare to be allowed for every American, every New Jerseyan so that reimbursements and economics don’t drive whether emergency care and acute healthcare are available to the people.”
Residents from Jersey City and across North Jersey gathered outside Heights University Hospital throughout the week to protest its closure. The North New Jersey Democratic Socialists of America Health Justice Working Group (DSA) launched a sit-in that snow balled into a rally called a “die in” at the hospital’s parking lot area.
DSA members have been setting up tents outside the hospital since Thursday afternoon of last week.
Protesters’ ‘Die In’ To Symbolize The Lives At Stake
Protesters walked back and forth on Palisade Avenue, demanding the hospital continue operating, rather than a total cease of operations entirely. Councilmembers Ward D Jake Ephros, Ward C Tom Zuppa, Ward E Eleana Little and Ward B Joel Brooks were alongside rally goers, with longtime social activist Larry Hamm, representing the People’s Organization For Progress.
“People before profit! We have to take profit out of healthcare. We have to take profit out of healthcare and let healthcare be based on people’s needs, we stand here in solidarity with you.”
– shouted Hamm, during Saturday’s demonstrations.
Ward C Councilmember Zuppa echoed the need of maintaining critical healthcare rather than shutting down.
“Open the hospital! We will not be held hostage to you [HRH] putting people’s lives at risk,” echoed Zuppa in front of the hospital. “The message is clear healthcare is a human right.”
Slice of Culture heard the protesters’ belt of chants.
“Mikie Sherill can’t you see, healthcare is not a luxury!” protesters circled the parking lot as Jersey City Police officers were on the sideline. “Patients over profit, patients over profit! The people united will never be defeated.”
In an act of civil protesting, protesters took to the floor in front of the hospital with chalked body outlines, indicating the supposed deceased body. Members who spoke to Slice of Culture said it showed the lives at stake with the closure.
“Our council office is deeply disappointed by the closure of Christ Hospital and by the State’s and Governor Sherrill’s inaction in preventing it,” Ephros said in a statement after the hospital closed its doors, who led pro-union chants among dissenters.
“We applaud Mayor Solomon’s efforts to file an injunction, and we stand with our community and all healthcare workers at Christ Hospital… Our office is exploring all available options regarding Christ Hospital. Healthcare is a human right, and the health of our community must always come before profit.”
The rally members headed to the back of the hospital’s loading zone, where they proceeded to enter the facility, in which JCPD officers arrested two individuals: Isaac Jimenez, the organizer of the rally and a member of the North New Jersey Democratic Socialists of America and Hudson County DSA, and Carissa Cunningham, who attended the rally and is the aide to Ward B Councilman Joel Brooks.
Councilmember Brooks confirmed to Slice of Culture via text that the individuals were released “two hours after their arrest.”
The hospital closure leaves Jersey City facing not only a healthcare desert, but the loss of an institution rooted in generations of community healthcare for Jersey City residents and residents of nearby Hudson County towns.
“For generations, it was part of the heartbeat of Jersey City, especially for those of us in the Heights and Journal Square,” said Danielle Dadamo, a longtime activist in Jersey City and was born there, who posted on social media on this matter.
“The loss of Christ hospital is not just the closing of a building. It is the loss of accessible healthcare for thousands of residents who depended on having an emergency room minutes away. In an emergency, minutes matter.”
This week, Mayor Solomon will meet with senior directors to discuss eminent domain as one of the few legal avenues potentially available to the city. Nathaniel Styer, the mayor’s communications director, confirmed in a recent phone call with Slice of Culture, that they’re getting this:
“Ducks on the row.”
