O’Dea calls for ‘task force of all levels of government’ to keep Heights hospital open
Taken from The Hudson County View
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
September 28, 2025
“Christ Hospital is an essential part of Jersey City’s healthcare infrastructure that thousands of people rely on for medical care, especially those without the means to travel to other facilities,” he said in a statement.
“It also carries extra significance to me, because I was born there and have had many friends receive care there over the years, which makes keeping it open and operating as Christ Hospital is very personal. If it were to close, those patients who are mostly elderly, low-income, immigrants and other vulnerable populations would be deeply at risk. We must do everything in our power to ensure that Christ Hospital remains open as a full-service, acute care, safety net hospital, full stop.”
He continued that he is urging Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and the Hudson County state legislative delegation to convene a task force that has municipal, county, and state officials to assure than the former Christ Hospital remains operational.
On Friday, HRH CEO Dr. Nizar Kifaieh announced that they are planning a suspension of non-essential services in the next 30 days barring a sudden injection of state funding.
Ward E Councilman James Solomon and Hoboken 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo, who are also running for mayor in their respective cities, are demanding answers about the financial woes of the hospital, as HCV first reported.
“It’s deeply concerning that the new ownership of Christ Hospital is talking about cutting services or potentially even closing this essential facility so soon after taking over control of it,” O’Dea added.
“While they are correct that more state funding is absolutely needed, we also require full transparency from the hospital’s owners about what changed in recent months and how the situation suddenly became this dire. Christ Hospital has faced financial challenges for years, but that did not stop Hudson Regional Health from purchasing it. They now have a responsibility to the people of Jersey City to provide honest, straight answers about the future of healthcare in our city.”
He concluded that he is weary about the prospect of the Heights University Hospital site becoming part of a redevelopment plan and he would not support any plan that results in the closure of the facility.
HRH, formerly Hudson Regional Hospital, acquired the three hospitals owned by CarePoint Health in April after the hospital chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as HCV first reported.
They have announced the rebrand of all their hospitals in June, cutting the ribbon on the Bayonne University Hospital a week-and-half ago.
Shortly after HRH announced the expected service cuts, Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) President Debbie White said that they assured the bankruptcy court that they had the means to take over the CarePoint facilities.
“HPAE learned that layoff notices were issued on Friday night by Hudson regional at Heights Hospital. Just how many is unclear. We have issued an information request to determine the exact number since HRH executives have not been forthright. What is clear is that Hudson Regional knew exactly what they were doing when they took over the CarePoint system,” White said on Saturday evening.
“Still, they promised they had a plan to create a success of the entire system and not just two out of the three hospitals. Seems disingenuous to say, only six months later, that they’ve run out of solutions and are cutting services and staff at Heights.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated with a statement from Health Professionals and Allied Employees President Debbie White.