Adding JFK in Edison fortifies Hackensack Meridian Health's presence in Middlesex and Union counties.
One of the largest and fasting growing hospital networks in New Jersey, Hackensack Meridian Health, has reached an agreement to acquire JFK Medical Center in Edison, the CEOs at both institutions announced Thursday.
Hackensack Meridian Health's Board of Trustees Wednesday signed off on a letter of intent to pursue an "affiliation;" JFK's board voted yes last week.
"As charitable, not-for-profit health care providers, JFK and Hackensack Meridian Health share a common mission and commitment to service," according to the joint announcement.
"We share a culture and vision for the future of health care that reinforces JFK Health's role in the community," said Raymond Fredericks, the president and CEO of JFK Health said in a statement. "Along with Hackensack Meridian Health, we will enhance our delivery of top-quality, coordinated patient care to our diverse community. We are proud of the more than 20 year relationship we have with Meridian successfully running Home Care and Satellite Rehabilitation facilities."
During a telephone conference with officials from Hackensack Meridian Health Thursday morning, Fredricks said, naturally, employees are anxious about potential layoffs as a result of the consolidation. He was unable to say whether that would ultimately happen.
"Of course that is a question employees are wondering; 'What's going to happen with me?'"Fredericks said. "One thing I was able to point to is, we continue to grow. And we look forward to continuing to grow. But there is never a guarantee."
It was only four months ago Hackensack University Health Network merged its operations with Meridian, creating an 11 hospital system stretching across seven counties from the New York border to the Jersey shore. It is the second-largest hospital network behind RWJ Barnabas Health, which was also vying to acquire JFK.
Adding JFK, a community hospital recognized for its neurology and rehabilitation services, fortifies the chain's presence in Middlesex and Union counties.
"JFK Medical Center has established itself as one of the leading health care providers in central New Jersey," said John K. Lloyd, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. "JFK shares with us the common goal of providing an expansive continuum of care.
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For JFK, the partnership - first reported by NJ Advance Media - gives one of the few remaining independent hospitals the security to survive in one of the most competitive healthcare markets in the northeast.
New Jersey's crowded hospital industry has been engaged on a merger and acquisition frenzy for more than six years, driven in large part by the landmark health care law. Hospitals agreed to take sizable cuts in Medicare funding in order to fund the Affordable Care Act with the promise of treating more insured patients. But in order to make the finances work, large hospital systems have merged and most independent community hospitals have been snapped up by chains.
During the telephone conference, Robert C. Garrett, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, said he believes the Affordable Care Act has perpetuated mergers, but that the market had already been heading in that direction.
"Since the passage, it has enhanced the pace of these types of mergers," Garrett said. He later added, "We do see it as a continuing trend" but as a positive in being able to deliver more efficient health care to communities.
JFK is a 498-bed community hospital serving Middlesex, Union and Somerset counties. Its other holdings include the Neuroscience Institute, the Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, and a satellite emergency room at the former Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.