Pallone and NJ mayors erupt over plan they say will create a ‘health care desert’

✅ Rep. Frank Pallone and mayors unite to stop Monmouth Medical Center’s move

✅ Critics say the plan will create a 'health care desert' in Long Branch

✅ Gov. Murphy and RWJ Barnabas face accusations of fast-tracking the move

LONG BRANCH — Several Monmouth County mayors, religious leaders and council members have joined Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. 6th District, to help in his fight to keep Monmouth Medical Center as a full-service hospital.

RWJ Barnabas got the green light in October to begin the final steps towards moving the 136-year-old hospital's license to the new Vogel Medical Center in Tinton Falls. Pallone accused the state Department of Health and Gov. Phil Murphy of fast-tracking the move so the process is done by the time Murphy leaves office in January.

Pallone and a group of community and church leaders spoke before a hearing at the Anne Vogel Family Care & Wellness Center in Eatontown about the plan to move many of the hospital's key services to a new facility in Tinton Falls. The hospital was recently ranked No. 2 of all hospitals in the RWJ Barnabas system by Newsweek.

"This isn't just about Long Branch, right? It's bad for Riverview in Red Bank. It's bad for Jersey Shore Hospital for Neptune because once one hospital is gutted, every other hospital in the region gets overwhelmed. So in this case, Jersey Shore and Riverview will have to absorb many more patients in need, which will cause financial strain and put them at risk."

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Residents fear loss of ‘lifeline’ healthcare in Long Branch

Long Branch Mayor John Pallone, who is the congressman's brother, said the closure would create a serious gap in giving quality medical care to the vulnerable populations of the area.

"The plan, quite frankly, would be disastrous for our city and would have serious adverse effects on our neighboring communities," the mayor said.

Red Bank Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano said that Monmouth Medical Center has been a lifeline to the community, where quality healthcare is within reach via bus or train without having to drive. She fears that the uninsured, the underinsured, immigrant families, seniors on fixed incomes and the essential workers will be left behind by the move.

"People at our beach towns know that if something happens, help is close. The proposal to move this hospital out of Long Branch risks creating what public health experts call a health care desert, an area where access to timely, affordable and equitable care simply does not exist. And make no mistake, the people who will feel this the most are those who already struggle to get care today."

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What’s at stake: Key services could disappear

Pallone later blasted the public hearing after it was held in a room “so small that employees of the corporation proposing the closure filled nearly every seat.” The Democrat said nearly 500 people came to attend the hearing but more  "actual residents" were turned away while lined up outside.

“I demanded that the hearing be shut down and rescheduled so every resident could participate. That request was crassly ignored, and I am appalled,” Pallone said in a statement.

"We are incredibly grateful to the members of State Health Planning Board who conducted a nearly six-hour-long public hearing in full accordance with state regulations. We appreciate all who attended and provided input. We also appreciate the efforts of the Department of Health in continuing to allow public comment through the next few weeks. We look forward to continuing to engage our communities and demonstrate how our vision for transformative health care will create new, state-of-the-art and modernized health facilities to deliver the most advanced care and treatments closer to home for more of our patients," a RWJBarnabas Health spokesperson said.

Long Branch Board of Education member Tony Valdiviezo was upset that the hearing was moved from Long Branch to a small room at a health care facility in Eatontown at a time when most of those affected could not easily attend.

"Shame on you, Monmouth Medical Center for setting up this public hearing away from the very city that treats you so well for decades," Valdiviezo said.

The move would eliminate labor and delivery, intensive care, and inpatient acute care services at the 136-year-old hospital in Long Branch, leaving behind only limited outpatient operations and a satellite emergency room, according to Pallone.

Murphy denies that the process is being rushed and insists that it is ongoing. Healthcare would continue in both locations if the plan were approved by the State Health Planning Board and the state health commissioner.

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