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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Christie Praises Hospital Approval at Westwood Meeting

The governor held a town hall meeting in Westwood Wednesday morning.

Governor Chris Christie praised State Health Commissioner Mary O'Dowd's decision to approve the reopening of the former Pascack Valley Hospital during a town hall meeting in Westwood Wednesday. O'Dowd announced the decision to reopen the facility as Hackensack University Medical Center North at Pascack Valley in a letter to HUMC CEO and President Robert Garrett Monday. Christie said he expects the hospital will improve medical care for residents and bring more jobs back to the area. "This is the right decision for the residents of the Pascack Valley," Christie said. "It's going to provide immediate increases in access to health care for everybody in this community." The governor also praised the state and local officials who pushed for the…

DMAB6395

5:39 pm on Tuesday, March 27, 2012

I think it's funny that Englewood & Valley are saying that they would lose money & have problems financially-they didn't have any problems when PVH was open to begin with. If the CEO (I will not mention his name) & the Board of Directors weren't so finically irresponsible PVH wouldn't have closed in the 1st place. Plus The Record didn't help any by saying that the hospital wasn't a good place to …   more ›

Monday, February 27, 2012

State Health Commissioner Approves Westwood Hospital

The decision marks the final approval needed for the hospital to reopen.

State Health Commissioner Mary O'Dowd approved Hackensack University Medical Center's plan to reopen the former Pascack Valley Hospital as a new 128-bed facility Monday, according to a 14-page letter O'Dowd wrote to HUMC President and CEO Robert Garrett. Pascack Valley Hospital was closed in 2007 due to financial troubles and has recently had an emergency room operated by HUMC, but approval was needed before the rest of the facility could be reopened as a full-service hospital. Texas-based LHP Hospital Group, a for-profit care provider, will operate the facility. Richard S. Freeman will serve as the CEO. Westwood Mayor John Birkner said he expects the hospital will be a positive force on the community, comparing the efforts of residents to…

Linda Besink

3:42 pm on Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Very good news! Thanks to everyone who lobbied for this to happen, from the local elected officials to the people with lawn signs. The other hospitals seem to care more about corporate survival than they do about patients. Both are important but people come first.   more ›

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