RWJBarnabas and the outgoing Murphy administration recently negotiated a multimillion-dollar deal that includes a $400 million tax credit for the health care system’s expansion in Tinton Falls and addresses ongoing concerns about the future of its medical center in Long Branch.
RWJ, the largest employer in Long Branch, announced plans to move to a brand-new 252-bed acute care center back in October after the state’s Department of Health approved the plans for the relocation. The project, known as the Vogel Medical Campus, will redevelop 36 acres and the former site of the Cold War-era Myer Center building into a new campus that includes a 150,000-square-foot cancer center and a 750,000-square-foot acute care facility.
The cancer center is the first phase of the project and is slated to open later this year. It will operate in partnership with the Rutgers Cancer Institute, while the second phase of the project, which received a $400 million Aspire tax credit from the New Jersey Economic Development Agency, has an $800 million price tag and is slated to open by 2032.
A series of demonstrations from Long Branch residents late last year eventually drew in support from local elected officials, who appear to have devised a plan for the tax credit agreement and to keep the Long Branch location open just a day before the end of the legislative session and just a day before the end of former Governor Phil Murphy’s term.
The legislature passed a bill on January 12 specifically designed to allow the Long Branch facility to continue operating for another 10 years at a reduced capacity. State senators Vin Gopal and Joseph Vitale, as well as assemblywomen Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, sponsored the bill, which cleared the legislature on the last day of the legislative session and was signed into law by former Governor Phil Murphy during his last day in office on January 20.
The former governor signed the legislation five days after the EDA approved the $400 million tax credit at its board meeting on January 15, and four days after Governor Mikie Sherrill announced the new CEO of the EDA, Evan Weiss.
The legislation signed into law also stipulated that if the relocated hospital’s original location is in an underserved community, it can operate under the same license as the relocated hospital. That same law also stipulated that the new site must be in a property that was owned by the federal government before 2006.
The carveout appears to be so specific to RWJ’s relocation to Tinton Falls that the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) published a report on January 8 that said the RWJ location in Long Branch was the only medical center in the state that appeared to qualify for this pilot program.
According to a news release from January 8 from U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone (D-06), who has vocally opposed the health care system’s relocation to Tinton Falls, RWJ will operate 48 surgical and observation beds, with up to 12 beds convertible to intensive care use in Long Branch. Operating rooms for major surgery would also continue.
The legislation also includes a $3 million appropriation towards the Department of Health to ‘ensure continued access to care for patients residing in underserved communities.’
Although there was little pushback from the community about the new cancer center in Tinton Falls, things started to heat up in December when the system announced its plans to continue operating the emergency room and outpatient wing of the Long Branch facility and relocate acute care to Tinton Falls.
A report in Patch.com in December said that RWJ intended to shrink its footprint from more than 1 million square feet in Long Branch to 345,000 square feet. Some buildings would also be torn down, which prompted Pallone to predict that RWJ will eventually sell the entire campus in Long Branch.
Despite the passing of the legislation and incentives becoming an 8-day sprint for officials in Trenton, there is still significant uncertainty surrounding the future of the location in Long Branch. The legislation only provides for a one-time $3 million appropriation, but future funding from Trenton to keep the Long Branch location open will have to be approved in future legislative sessions. The OLS report from January 8 also notes that it is impossible to predict whether the appropriation will enable RWJ to continue operating both locations.
While Trenton’s compromise earlier this month has set the stage for the Vogel Medical Center to proceed, it has also set the stage for a recurring fiscal battle in future legislative sessions.
