While we, the undersigned of this petition, support an emergency facility and medical mall at the Pascack Valley Hospital location in Westwood, New Jersey, we DO NOT SUPPORT the re-establishment of an acute-care, inpatient hospital at the former Pascack Valley site. With Pascack Valley Hospital filing for bankruptcy more than three years ago, it makes no sense to start another hospital in the same location, when high quality care and services are available at the hospitals already established in Bergen County. Such a plan goes against the findings of the Reinhardt Commission and its report on Rationalizing Health Care Resources, which stated that too many hospital beds in Bergen County damage the operational effectiveness of the hospital system and threaten the quality of care for the County.

We strongly urge the Commissioner of Health and the State Health Planning Board to reject this application on the basis that it is counter to good health care planning for the people of Bergen County.