03/24/008

Health Commissioner Approves Greenville Hospital Plan

JERSEY CITY - Commissioner of Health and Senior Services Heather Howard today approved LibertyHealth System’s certificate of need application to close Greenville Hospital. Following an orderly transition of medical services to other facilities and direct communication with the community, the hospital will cease patient care on April 23.

By the time Greenville ceases to provide patient care, all in-patients will have been moved to appropriate facilities for the care they need.

“All health care services available at Greenville Hospital are available at Jersey City Medical Center. We have done everything possible to protect these services,” said Joe Scott, President and CEO of LibertyHealth System Inc. “In the state’s fiscal crisis, we will continue to do everything we can to preserve the quality health care we provide for the community. LibertyHealth will work with local elected officials and community leaders to ensure adequate funding for the services we provide to all patients.”

Jersey City Medical Center, which is 2.8 miles from Greenville Hospital, is already the primary hospital used by the Greenville community. LibertyHealth applied to close Greenville Hospital because of declining patient use, declining charity care funding and duplication of services with nearby state-of-the-art Jersey City Medical Center.

To help residents find appropriate care, LibertyHealth will mail a brochure to all households in the Greenville community with transportation information and locations of area hospitals and federally qualified health centers. For help finding local medical facilities and transportation information, area residents may call LibertyHealth at 201-915-2000.

LibertyHealth administration and human resources staff have been working since last fall with Greenville Hospital employees. Employees have been provided options to transfer to other LibertyHealth facilities and the opportunity to use outplacement assistance. Through the assistance program, many employees have already accepted other positions. Other employees have chosen not to pursue opportunities at this time or have chosen to retire. Eligible employees also will be entitled to severance packages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Greenville Hospital closing?
If we had not purchased it in 1989, state regulators would have required that Greenville Hospital close. LibertyHealth sustained and subsidized it for all these years, but we cannot afford to do that anymore. Greenville Hospital is losing patients and about $4 million a year. LibertyHealth has just emerged from a year-long campaign to save more than $30 million in operating losses, but still must rely on extra state reimbursement.

Created as a community hospital by German immigrants in 1898, Greenville Hospital is no longer needed to serve the community’s medical needs. The hospital duplicates the services of the new Jersey City Medical Center, which serves as the primary hospital for the Greenville community and as the region’s safety net hospital.

How many patients are seen at Greenville Hospital?
Greenville Hospital is one of the smallest hospitals in New Jersey. It is licensed for 100 beds, but staffs only 75 beds. The hospital averages a daily census of 30-40 patients. About two thirds of emergency room visits are for primary care, like colds or bruises, and not for emergency situations. There are too few patient visits to sustain an emergency department.

Where will the patients go?
The governor’s Commission on Rationalizing Health Care Resources recently concluded that more than 400 hospital beds in the Newark-Jersey City region are empty on the average day. Given the vacant beds, area hospitals can easily absorb more patients.

Twice as many people from the community go to Jersey City Medical Center as go to Greenville Hospital. Nearly as many go to Christ Hospital, which is 5 miles away, as go to Greenville Hospital. The closest hospitals are Jersey City Medical Center, 2.8 miles away, and Bayonne Medical Center, 3.4 miles away. Many federally qualified health centers are located throughout Jersey City and many doctors’ offices are in or near the Greenville community.

What will happen to the building?
LibertyHealth has offered the building to area federally qualified health centers, and will continue to try to sell the building.

What is being done for the employees?
Eligible employees will receive severance packages. All employees are entitled to outplacement assistance, which began last fall. Many employees have already accepted other positions within other LibertyHealth facilities or with other companies. Other employees have chosen not to pursue opportunities at this time or have chosen to retire.

Will patients still be able to see their doctors?
Patients’ relationship with their physicians will not change.

How are you communicating with the community?
LibertyHealth has worked with a community advisory board, which includes city officials, physicians and patients, to develop its communication plan. The plan will include an extensive advertising campaign in English and Spanish. Brochures with information on area health care facilities and transportation options will be mailed to every home. Also, signs will be placed on and inside the Greenville Hospital building to provide information on the scheduled closing of the building.

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