Pascack Valley Hospital

Pascack Valley Hospital
Geography
Location	Westwood, New Jersey, United States
Coordinates	40°59′6.75″N 74°0′54.95″W / 40.9852083°N 74.0152639°W / 40.9852083; -74.0152639Coordinates: 40°59′6.75″N 74°0′54.95″W / 40.9852083°N 74.0152639°W / 40.9852083; -74.0152639
Organization
Care system	Medicare (US), Medicaid, Public
Hospital type	Community
Affiliated university	New York Medical College[1]
Services
Emergency department	Yes
Helipad	FAA LID: JY29
Beds	291
History
Founded	June 1, 1959
Closed	November 21, 2007
Links
Website	http://www.pvhospital.org PVH
Lists	Hospitals in New Jersey

Pascack Valley Hospital (PVH) is a former 291-bed hospital, located at 250 Old Hook Road, Westwood, New Jersey.

History

Pascack Valley Hospital opened on June 1, 1959, as an 86-bed community hospital. It has undergone several expansions and grew to 291 beds.^[2]

In 2005, the PVH completed construction on a new four-story addition to the hospital. This caused the hospital to incur an additional $80 million in debt. This, combined with several years of operating losses, forced Well Care Group, the owner of the hospital, to seek a buyer. In November 2006, Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) entered into a memorandum of understanding with PVH to acquire the hospital, with plans to keep the facility operating as a full acute-care hospital.^[3][4]

Ultimately, Pascack's agreement with HUMC fell through, and on September 24, 2007, the hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with plans to liquidate the hospital's assets. In anticipation of closure, PVH began to limit its admissions. On November 21, the facility stopped providing medical care, and the administrative remaining departments closed shortly thereafter.^[5][6][7]

Liquidation of assets

Days before the hospital closed in November 2007, the certificate of need for the hospital's mobile intensive care unit (which had provided advanced life support services to 18 towns in the Pascack and Northern Valleys) was auctioned in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Hackensack University Medical Center was the winning bidder at $3.6 million.^[8][9] On November 21, as soon as PVH closed its doors, HUMC began providing paramedic services to the area.^[10]

After several delays, the hospital building and property were auctioned on February 27, 2008. Hackensack University Medical Center and Touro University College of Medicine won with a joint bid of $45 million. At the time, they had plans to reopen a full-service hospital and a new medical school.^[11] But in September 2008, Touro backed out of the deal, deciding instead to open their medical school in Hasbrouck Heights.^[12]

On October 1, 2008, HUMC opened up a satellite emergency department called Hackensack University Medical Center North at Pascack Valley.^[13] HUMC, jointly with Legacy Hospital Partners, Inc., is currently seeking to obtain a license to open a 128-bed acute care facility at the PVH site.^[14]

Rebirth

In February 2012, the New Jersey Health Commissioner announced approval of the Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) application to open a fully functioning hospital in Westwood on the site of the former Pascack Valley Hospital. The new hospital, which will be named HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley, will have 128 beds and be the first for-profit facility of its kind in Bergen County. The hospital will feature all private patient rooms, a state-of-the-art obstetrical unit, an intensive/critical care unit, five operating rooms, one special procedure room, and a cardiac catheterization laboratory. Officials at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center have fought against HUMC’s application from the start and their positions remained unchanged. They indicated they were investigating legal action to prevent the new hospital's opening.^[15]

References

External links