Hackensack University Medical Center North at Pascack Valley

Hackensack University Medical Center North at Pascack Valley
When you feel good. We feel good.
Geography
Location	250 Old Hook Road, Westwood, New Jersey, United States
Coordinates	40°59′6.75″N 74°0′54.95″W
Organization
Care system	Medicare (US), Medicaid, Charity care
Hospital type	Satellite Emergency Department
Affiliated university	Hackensack University Medical Center
Services
Emergency department	Yes, limited
Beds	0 (overnight)
History
Founded	2008
Links
Website	http://www.humc.com/north/
Lists	Hospitals in New Jersey

Hackensack University Medical Center North at Pascack Valley (HUMC North at PV) is a satellite, free-standing emergency department located in Westwood, New Jersey, at the site of the former Pascack Valley Hospital. Owned by Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), HUMC North at PV serves the Pascack Valley community in northern Bergen County, New Jersey.

History

After the closure of Pascack Valley Hospital, the site was placed for auction by order of the bankruptcy court judge administering the case. The Touro University College of Medicine, which had plans to open a medical school on the site, had sought to advance the planned March 2008 bidding so that it could meet a requirement for preliminary accreditation. The medical school planned to bid together with Hackensack University Medical Center. The other bidders were a joint offer from Ridgewood's Valley Hospital and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in which urgent care would be offered, but no overnight beds would be maintained. Paradigm Physician Partners planned to reopen the facility as a community hospital with 100 to 150 beds. In a fevered auction at the Newark, New Jersey courtroom, the HUMC / Touro Medical School joint bid of $45 million won the bidding, beating the Valley Hospital / Englewood Hospital effort in 23 rounds of bids; Paradigm Physician Partners and another prospective participant were disqualified from participation.

In November 2006, HUMC entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Pascack Valley Hospital (PVH), located in Westwood, New Jersey, to acquire the hospital from Well Care Group, Inc. On October 1, 2008, Hackensack University Medical Center North at Pascack Valley opened as, "a satellite emergency department to treat non-life-threatening emergencies."

The reopening plans have been challenged by Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and Valley Hospital, which claim that they would be harmed by the reopened center. A study commissioned by the two opposing hospitals by a healthcare consulting firm concluded that the closing of Pascack Valley Hospital in 2007 benefited the two hospitals "without creating undue hardship to the residents of Bergen County" and that the reopening conflicts with state findings that there are too many hospital beds in Bergen County.

Services / Level of Care

As of October 2008, HUMC North at PV offers only non-life-threatening emergency treatment. The facility is open 24 hours a day, and is staffed by physicians and nurses. Patients who require more than 12 hours of observation, or in-patient admission to a full service hospital, are transferred to HUMC's main hospital facility in Hackensack.

Future

In September 2008, HUMC applied to expand the services of HUMC North at PV to a full-service hospital. The proposal is a joint venture with Legacy Hospital Partners, Inc. of Texas. The proposal requests approval to offer the following services:

• 128 Inpatient Beds including:
  • I.C.U.
  • Medical / Surgical
  • Obstetrics
  • Six (6) full service Operating Rooms
• Four (4) Surgical Procedure Rooms
• Radiology
• Laboratory
• Cardiac Cath Lab
• Other Outpatient Services to be determined