One only has to look at the recent case of St. Mary Hospital in Hoboken, which treats much of the area's indigent population and loses $2 to $3 million a month.
Or to look at the case of the Bayonne Medical Center, which has added a special angioplasty program to allow those patients to be treated in the county.
Hospitals try to provide for the needs of the community, but they also have to consider procedures that are cost-effective.
Hudson County currently has seven area hospitals that are constantly adding new services to keep up with the community's needs and changes in medical practices.
Here's a look at the recent changes they've made to better provide quality health care.
St. Mary Hospital St. Mary Hospital in Hoboken, built in 1863, is the oldest acute care medical hospital in Hudson County.
Yet for all its history, the hospital has had financial difficulties, in part because St. Mary provides care for a large number of the poor (as defined by Medicaid, charity, and self-pay).
More than 37 percent of the households in the service area are below the poverty line. The hospital lost an estimated $27 million in 2005 and loses an estimated $2 to $3 million a month.
In December, Bon Secours, the health care company that took over operations in 2000, voted to close the hospital in one year if they can't find another buyer.
Since then, many staff workers and residents have rallied to keep the city's only hospital open. (See www.savestmary.com). The hospital treats approximately 32,000 emergency cases a year.
"We are a small, tight-knit community, and losing St. Mary will be devastating," said Beverly Altomare, the president of St. Mary Hospital Auxiliary, at a recent rally to save the institution. "This is a hospital that has employed a lot of Hoboken residents, and it's a disgrace that they are even thinking about doing something like this."
The need for an emergency care facility was never more evident than on 9/11, when St. Mary, strategically located at 308 Willow Ave., was a primary first responder after the attacks. The staff triaged almost 10,000 people at the Hoboken PATH terminal.
Mayor Roberts has renewed talks with the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey, which had planned to buy the hospital before UMDNJ experienced its own financial difficulties and corruption charges. UMDNJ has recently returned to the table.
If the deal goes through, St. Mary could become a teaching hospital. The University would have teaching, practice and research opportunities and it would restore financial stability to St. Mary.
Until the time that a decision is made, St. Mary still continues to operate all services as an acute care medical facility and Mayor Roberts has said that he will do everything he can to make sure that Hoboken has all the medical services the city requires.
For more information, please visit: www.bonsecoursnj.com.
Palisades Medical Center Palisades Medical Center, located at 7600 River Road in North Bergen, is 202-bed, fully accredited acute care facility. This year, the hospital celebrates its 28th year on the Hudson River, having established itself as a major medical facility.
As part of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare system and as an affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, PMC provides patients with access to the most advanced medical care and specialists.
The doctors can link to the hospital from their office on a secure and confidential system that provides them with 24-hour access to patients. This provides more effective treatment and keeps costs low.
One of those advancements is a 64-Multi-Slice CT Scanner, which provides doctors 3-D images in precise detail. The Breast Center offers comprehensive care including: advanced mammography, ultrasound, and breast MRI technology.
In the maternity ward, women can comfortably stay in the specially designed suites that allow them to stay in one room from to delivery to discharge.
"We are progressive in our thinking," said Bruce Markowitz, President and CEO of Palisades Medical Center. "We are working to meet the needs of the community in the highest fashion."
Part of that advancement is the child day care facility, a community outreach program, pastoral care, and expanded emergency care treatment.
The ER has been upgraded to include a Fast Track system so minor illnesses and injuries can be treated more quickly.
One of the goals of the center is to provide quality service for every need.
"Everyone is treated in a respectful and dignified way," said Markowitz.
All employees are trained to meet the needs of the patient. This comprehensive training includes individual focus. Just one example is that a staff member will take you to your destination instead of telling you where to go.
There are also patient advocates on every floor to help.
Another part of their expanded care is the Harborage, a 239-bed rehab and assisted living center. The center has private and semi-private rooms with 24-hour nursing care.
The short-term rehabilitation program provides care for patients recovering from serious injuries, strokes, and diseases.
The assisted living accommodations provide residents with comfortable surroundings, spectacular views, recreation, education and healthcare.
Palisades works hard to meet the needs of the community and the patients.
"We are invested in our physicians, new technology, and clinical services," said Markowitz. "We have the ability to provide service for every need."
For more information, please visit: www.palisadesmedical.org.
Bayonne Medical Center Bayonne Medical Center, conveniently located off of Route 440, is a fully accredited, 278 bed, acute care hospital.
They recently won a much sought after position to participate in a pilot study called the Atlantic C-Port-E study, on elective angioplasty surgery.
Angioplasty is a procedure that involves threading a tube through an artery to prevent the walls from collapsing. Before the procedure was allowed at BMC, patients diagnosed with a heart attack were required to go to a regional center.
BMC is now allowed to perform this non-invasive procedure without a back-up surgical team, which reduces the cost for the patient and brings added revenue to the community hospital.
The program has already saved lives. Since Jan. 30, three procedures have been successfully performed.
This is just one of the programs designed to provide advanced health care options to the community and to secure the financial success of the Medical Center. Another effort to increase the range of services is the recent bid on St. Vincent's hospital in Staten Island. Establishing a partnership with St. Vincent's could increase jobs and will lower the cost of supplies. The added benefit is that St. Vincent's is a teaching hospital, which would give BMC a higher reimbursement rate as a teaching facility.
Bayonne Medical Center is already developing leading edge treatments in cardiology, vascular medicine, radiology and woman's health. The additional information, resources, and training provided from St. Vincent's will enhance the level of care in Bayonne.
The combined revenue will give both hospitals the funds needed for new equipment.
Another goal is to build a nursing home in Bayonne. Although there are currently 15 facilities in Hudson County, the Board of Directors would like to provide this service to the aging residents that wish to remain in town.
Not only would residents benefit by the brand new facility and equipment, they also would have direct access to the Bayonne Medical Center.
BMC plans to bring in a private partner because the cost of operating a facility alone is too high.
If everything goes as planned, the nursing home could be open in the spring of 2007.
For more information, please visit: www.bayonnemedicalcenter.org
Christ Hospital Christ Hospital, 176 Palisades Ave. in Jersey City is a 381 bed acute care facility.
As the first wave of Baby Boomers move towards early retirement, the hospital realized that patients will require additional healthcare services including: sports medicine, joint replacement, joint repairs, and a procedure known as cartilage implantations.
One of the hospital's specialties is orthopedic care, which they have the lead in Hudson County. The Orthopedic staff consists of 17 board certified surgeons and two residents. Together they performed 821 cases during 2005, including total joint replacements (hips, knees, and shoulders) and other less invasive procedures like arthroscopies.
The surgeons specialize in spine, hand, knee, total joint, trauma and sports medicine.
One of their board certified physicians, Dr. Juluru Rao, with over 30 years' experience, recently performed the autogenous cartilage implantation. The procedure harvests cells from the patient, which are then sent to an outside lab to grow and then surgically implanted back in the patient to form new cartilage.
"The beauty of this procedure is that there is no chance of rejection," said Dr. Rao. "Patients do relatively well and the initial results have been promising"
There is a full service rehab center with 11 licensed physical therapists, two occupational therapists and a 21-bed sub-acute unit, which brings the total amount of beds to 402 for patient care.
In addition, the podiatry staff of 31 doctors performed 226 surgical cases last year.
The Oncology department uses IMRT technology, which enables doctors to direct a radiation beam to the exact source of the cancer.
Another specialty is their Emergency room treatment, which features "Fast Track" service that provides express service for minor illnesses and injuries.
They also have the Harwood Heart Center that detects and treats most heart ailments and has a cardiac catheterization lab.
For more information, please visit: www.christhospital.org.
Meadowlands in Secaucus, Jersey City Medical Center, Greenville Hospital LibertyHealth Group has three hospitals in Hudson County including: The Jersey City Medical Center and Greenville Hospital in Jersey City, and the Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus.
This past year, LibertyHealth focused on enhancing physician support services, expanding the patient archive communications system (PACS) and other information support programs that speed patient care.
Jersey City Medical Center (also called Wilzig Hospital) celebrated its one year anniversary at its new location at 355 Grand St. recently. It is a 361-bed acute care facility and serves as the region's 911 dispatch center.
Last year, they opened the county's first cardiac catheterization lab and recently began offering emergency angioplasty services. In the fall, they began performing peripheral stenting, another lifesaving procedure that opens blocked arteries.
A specially designed consolidated Cardiac Unit (the Cube) brings all the services cardiac patients require into one area. Rapid response teams were oriented and deployed throughout the hospital to enhance patient recovery and to reduce the incident of cardiac arrest.
Known for the Perinatal Intensive care unit, the birthing center has attracted mothers involved in high-risk pregnancy.
Other new programs include: hearing aid screening, clinical nursing ladders and an innovation nursing computer system.
Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus is a fully accredited acute care community hospital located at 55 Meadowlands Parkway with 230 beds.
New this past year is the Hyperbaric Therapy Center that treats patients with chronic and non-healing wounds. The Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy is used in conjunction to speed healing in patients with unresolved wound issues.
They recently finished construction on the waiting area and grounds, and have begun planning a new ER.
Greenville Hospital, a 100-bed facility located at 1825 Kennedy Blvd. in Jersey City, recently opened a six-bed Intensive Care Unit with an adjacent comfortable family waiting area. This improvement comes on the heels of the new ER, lobby, patient rooms, nursing units, and diagnostic and treatment areas.
A new chronic dialysis unit was opened and a new pain management center, which provides patient relief from pain from a variety of reasons.
Physicians provide a wide range of services for patients suffering from headaches, neck or back pain, cancer pain, AIDS related pain syndrome, and sickle cell crisis pain.
For more information on all three hospitals, please visit: www.libertyhealth.org.
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