The Record
Thursday, July 9, 2009
BY LINDY WASHBURN

The proposed reopening of Pascack Valley Hospital is being postponed again — this time at the request of Hackensack University Medical Center and its partner, who say they need more time to prepare their case.

Hackensack, which had applied to open a 128-bed community hospital at the Westwood site, on Wednesday asked the state Health Department to put off a decision on its application for as long as six months.

“We respectfully request a deferral of the further review of the Certificate of Need application for the transfer of ownership of Pascack Valley Hospital … for a period not to exceed six months,” said a letter from Robin Ratliff, Hackensack’s vice president.

The State Health Planning Board, which was scheduled to hear testimony and make a recommendation to the health commissioner on July 23, then canceled its meeting, a department spokesman said.

“We needed more time to prepare for the State Health Planning Board meeting, to educate our constituents,” said Anne Marie Campbell, a Hackensack spokeswoman.

The medical center filed its application almost a year ago. It took many months and a protracted fight to acquire the license in federal Bankruptcy Court, before it was considered complete. Last month, about 1,000 people attended a public hearing on the application, with nearly all of those testifying endorsing Hackensack’s plan.

Legacy Hospital Partners Inc., the Texas investment and hospital management company that has promised to invest with Hackensack, said its commitment hadn’t changed. “We still would love an opportunity to work with them,” Legacy spokeswoman Pat Ball said of Hackensack. “We understand they have some other issues to work on that are taking precedence.”

Westwood Mayor John J. Birkner Jr. said he was frustrated at the “long drawn-out bureaucratic process” for a proposal he says has the overwhelming support of residents in the Pascack Valley and Northern Valley areas of Bergen County.

“I really hope the decision-makers listen to the people, and not to the institutions,” he said, referring to opposition from The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.

Both hospitals stand to lose business if a new, for-profit hospital opens in Westwood. They argue that there are more than enough hospital beds already in the region.

“A delay tactic only politicizes the issue and puts off the ultimate decision,” said Megan Fraser, a Valley spokeswoman. “It does not change the fact that Bergen County has too many hospitals beds or that a new hospital is not needed.”

Read the complete article at northjersey.com