CarePoint Health System, which runs three Hudson County hospitals, is approaching a fiscal crisis, insiders say.Whether that will spell, bankruptcy, closure of any or all of the three (Christ Hospital in Jersey City, Hoboken University/St. Mary Hospital and Bayonne Hospital), a sale or affiliation agreement no one is saying.But, as one observer close to the situation put it, it’s likely just a matter of time – possibly only days – before the nonprofit health care network with reportedly millions in debt accumulated the past two years will have to cease operations.“They’re paying out $8 million in salaries every two weeks, they owe vendors in excess of $40 mlllion – at least that’s what I’ve heard – and they’re operating under a ‘divert’ system (where the E.R. asks ambulance services to divert patients to another hospital because of a temporary inability to provide care in the emergency department.) “Eventually, they’re going to run out of money,” the source said.Mayor Steven Fulop, who appointed himself to the CarePoint Board of Directors this week, said in a statement that “the Governor needs to step in here and appoint a different hospital system to manage healthcare in Hudson County. Whether it is Barnabas, HRH, Hackensack, or any other hospital in the region, the Governor should make that decision.” According to Fulop, even a temporary closure of the hospitals would guaranty that they wouldn’t reopen due to new and “onerous” state hospital regulations. On September 14, CarePoint sent notices to 2,602 employees at the three hospitals of pending “mass layoffs” and “financial restructuring.”Such notices are required under the federal Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification (WARN) Act 60 days before a contemplated mass layoff or plant closing involving 100 or more workers.The advance notice is designed to give employees time to find new jobs and/or enroll in training leading to new employment.The prospective layoffs would affect 900 workers represented by District 1199J, National Union of Hospital Workers, at Hoboken University Hospital; along with 859 workers at Bayonne Hospital and 843 at Christ Hospital, all represented by Local 5185, Health Professionals and Allied Employees.All workers terminated would receive one week of severance pay for each full year of employment with the hospital at which they worked.Requests to CarePoint for comment have gone unanswered but Justin Drew, CarePoint’s chief of staff, told The Jersey Journal that the network expects to decide by month’s end how to reorganize in order to keep all three hospitals open with a possible reduction in staff.Drew was quoted as saying that CarePoint will be “evaluating the possibility of layoffs and/or service line reductions. These options are necessary to ensure our long-term financial stability, but no decisions have been made and there could be no layoffs at all.”Hudson Regional Hospital, a for-profit facility based in Secaucus, has been mentioned as a possible partner in a joint venture with CarePoint although the two have been litigants on a land issue involving Bayonne Hospital. Debbie White, president of the statewide Health Professionals & Allied Employees, said this week: “HPAE is demanding transparency from CarePoint regarding their plans going forward. New Jersey   NJ policymakers must also demand that CarePoint Health publicly share their plans to maintain healthcare services in Hudson County.  Simply announcing layoffs is not a plan.“It only creates chaos for patients, employees and the community.  Ultimately, the goal should be to preserve medical services, jobs and access to healthcare for the residents of these communities.”Drew told the Journal that CarePoint would consult with the state monitor appointed to keep track of the network’s financial operations before committing to any reshaping plan.Last month, it was reported by Becker’s Hospital Review that CarePoint hired a new CFO, Shamiq Syed, to oversee the network’s fiscal operations.Asked for his assessment of the situation, Hudson County Executive Craig Guy declined comment but County Commissioner Bill O’Dea said, “I don’t trust CarePoint. One wonders whether they’re planning to close any or all three hospitals, given the real estate value of those properties.”And, according to O’Dea, CarePoint reportedly owes the county $15 million for this year alone for a state-mandated community contribution fee that the city collects for the state which, in turn, gives back funds to help pay for charity care provided by nonprofit hospitals.O’Dea called for the state Department of Health “to bring in an operator” in place of CarePoint to either prevent or minimize layoffs. And, he added, DOH “should vet and develop a long-term plan to deal with the hospitals’ operation going forward.”One potential buyer and/or partner of CarePoint could be Insight, a for-profit health care network based in the Midwest, which, according to one source, has sent representatives to work with CarePoint for the past “eight or nine months” to get a feel for its operations.In an Op-Ed in Hudson County View, CarePoint Health Chief of Staff and Vice President of Marketing, Strategy & Patient Experience Justin Drew explained why a hook-up has eluded the hospital. “Many systems have either passed on the opportunity or not shown interest due to the high Medicare/Medicaid Payor Mix and charity care provided along with the fact that we don’t own the real estate under the hospitals in which we operate.”Dr. Donald Cinotti, a Jersey City-based ophthalmologist and former president of the Hudson County Medical Society, said that if CarePoint closed its hospitals, “it would be a terrible burden on the county” because residents – particularly those who are indigent – would have to queue up at other hospitals and likely clog ERs at those facilities.Cinotti said that while the Medical Society to date “hasn’t gotten any information on the likelihood of bankruptcy by CarePoint,” nor, he added, has it heard any complaints from members “saying they’re worried about their patients or their (practices).”“There isn’t an uproar yet,” Cinotti said, “but it’s good that persons are starting to think about it.” And, he added, New Jersey has seen prior consolidations of hospitals in an effort to keep health care accessible where needed.“I only hope that there is a committee in DOH looking at what do we do if (CarePoint) hospitals do go bankrupt … because I don’t know how much hospitals like the (Jersey City) Medical Center (run by Barnabas Healthcare) can absorb.”The post Clock is Ticking on Saving CarePoint Hospitals, Bankruptcy Possible appeared first on Jersey City Times.