Three hospital chains are exploring a purchase of JFK Medical Center in Edison.
EDISON -- JFK Medical Center, one of the largest employers in Middlesex County but one of the last few remaining independent hospitals in New Jersey, is shopping around for a potential buyer.
Barry Ostrowsky, CEO of RWJ Barnabas Health, the largest hospital chain in the state, confirmed his organization is one of the hospital systems making a play to acquire the Edison institution.
"It's a well-run, really community-focused institution," Ostrowsky told NJ Advance Media. "It already does some teaching, which is important to us. Its commitment to acute rehab and neurosciences are really part of what we believe in. It's an attractive place."
JFK intends to make a decision by the end of the year, he said.
JFK spokesman Steven Weiss did not confirm whether JFK plans to consolidate with another hospital, saying only that it was currently involved in a "process."
"JFK is in the middle of a process that is underway," Weiss said in an email Tuesday afternoon. "It would be inappropriate to comment on the process at this time. When and if there is something to report, JFK will release information."
N.J. towns sue 35 hospitals over property taxes
Other hospital systems vying for JFK are Hackensack Meridian Health and Morristown-based Atlantic Health, according to hospital industry consultant Donald Malafronte.
Hackensack Meridian, the product of its own 11-hospital massive merger this year, is likely pursuing JFK "as a link between their shore hospitals up to their northern hospitals...to fill a gap in their network," Malafronte said.
Meridian was founded in Monmouth County, Hackensack in Bergen County.
RJW Barnabas would be buying out a competitor in JFK, as they vie for some of the same physicians and patients, Malafronte said.
Barnabas Health based in Essex County, and Robert Wood Johnson University Health in Middlesex County merged last year to create the largest hospital chain in the state with combined revenues of $5.4 billion from 11 acute care hospitals and other holdings.
A spokeswoman for Hackensack Meridian declined to comment. An Atlantic Health spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
Hospital networks in the state and across the country have gone on a buying spree in the last six years, as competition has grown more fierce since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Hospitals agreed to accept smaller Medicare reimbursements to fund the landmark health care law.
Obamacare also demands that hospitals shift their emphasis to preventing illness, and providing outpatient treatment when possible.
JFK is a 498-bed community hospital serving Middlesex, Union and Somerset counties. Other holdings include The Neuroscience Institute, the Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, and a satellite emergency room at the former Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield.
Of the 72-acute care hospitals in the state, there are fewer than a dozen independent institutions like JFK.
The flurry of mergers will continue, Ostrowsky predicted.
"It's going to be very difficult for a stand-alone hospital in many cases to buy at the right rate of expense, to expand programs because of capital constraints, to do all the things a hospital would like to do to be an effective provider for the community," Ostrowsky said. "The stand-alone hospitals -- the few that are left -- will look to join a system because it is the only way can continue effectively."
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.