The Record
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
BY LINDY WASHBURN

State Health Commissioner Heather Howard has denied a request from Hackensack University Medical Center to extend the license for a hospital at the former Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood. That license is due to expire on Monday.

The Permit Extension Act of 2008, intended to help developers whose projects were stalled by the recession, does not apply in the case of the Pascack Valley Hospital license, Howard wrote in a letter to the medical center’s attorney.

Hackensack had asked for another year, under the act, to have its application to open a 128-bed community hospital in Westwood heard by the State Health Planning Board. 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 the reopening.

The battle between Hackensack and the two hospitals that oppose the reopening now moves to the courts.

Even before Howard’s ruling, Hackensack filed suit on Monday in Bergen County Superior Court to win an extension of the hospital license.

But Howard’s ruling specified that appeals should be filed in a different venue, the Appellate Division of Superior Court in Trenton.

Nevertheless, Anne Marie Campbell, a Hackensack spokeswoman, said the hospital would pursue the Bergen County action.

No hearings have been scheduled.

Howard’s ruling set off a firestorm of comment from state lawmakers and other local politicians, who accused her of ignoring the will of the people and an opportunity to encourage jobs and development. But it was welcomed by the opponents of Hackensack’s plan as a move toward rational health planning.

Read the entire story at northjersey.com