The Record
Wednesday, December 24, 2009
BY SCOTT FALLON

Hackensack University Medical Center’s efforts to keep the former Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood temporarily open will have to be done before an appeals panel, a judge ruled.

Superior Court Judge Robert Wilson denied a request by the hospital to challenge state Health Commissioner Heather Howard’s decision this week to let Pascack’s license expire on Monday.

HUMC attorneys wanted to argue their case before Wilson in Hackensack, but the judge ruled Wednesday that any challenge should be heard by the state appellate division. Wilson’s ruling was released today.

No state appellate court had received an appeal from HUMC as of Thursday afternoon, a courts spokeswoman said.

Mary McCarthy, an HUMC spokeswoman, would not say what the hospital’s next step is. “We are pursuing every avenue and evaluating all of our options to re-open” Pascack, she wrote in an e-mail today.

HUMC had wanted Howard to extend Pascack’s license by a year. An extension would have allowed the issue to be decided by the next health commissioner, one who will be appointed by Governor-elect Chris Christie. Christie made a campaign promise to support reopening the 128-bed community hospital, which closed after declaring bankruptcy two years ago.

“This week’s decision by the New Jersey Department of Heath and Senior Services was the right one,” said Megan Fraser, a spokeswoman for the Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. “It reinforced the need for regional healthcare planning and a strong healthcare system for the residents of Bergen County.”

Read the entire article at northjersey.com