Overview
- A Hudson County judge issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the New Jersey Department of Health and the State Health Planning Board from holding a public hearing on the Heights University Hospital closure.
- The order landed hours before the scheduled meeting after Hudson Regional Health moved to withdraw its closure filing, which the state had rejected as improper because the hospital had already ceased general operations.
- A certificate of need is the state approval required to shut a hospital or end key services, and health officials say HRH closed most care in November and then shut the emergency department on March 14 without that approval.
- The health department has fined HRH $128,000 for violations tied to the unapproved shutdown, while HRH cites steep losses and cuts to charity-care and County Option payments as the reason it halted services.
- HRH says it is exploring options such as relocating services, though Jersey City officials dispute that talks exist, and the court set May deadlines for written responses as unions and local leaders push for restored care and weigh tools like receivership or eminent domain.