Sweeney-Burzichelli-Taliaferro Call for Return of $51 Million Trust Fund for Salem Health Care

Salem County – Senate President Steve Sweeney, Deputy Assembly Speaker John Burzichelli and Assemblyman Adam Taliaferro today called for the return of the $51 million trust fund to Salem County to help facilitate the sale of Salem Memorial Hospital and to support health care services in Salem County.

A potential deal for the sale of the hospital that was approved by state regulators fell through, creating uncertainty about the hospital’s future and questions about the status of a $51 million trust fund intended to support health care programs in the Salem County area. The long term viability of the hospital requires the return of the funds to the nonprofit Salem organization, the legislators said. They called on Community Health System to return the money to Salem County so that it can be available to Inspira and put to its original intended use to benefit Salem County residents.

“This is not their money, it belongs to the people of Salem County and is supposed to be used to support medical care in the area,” said Senator Sweeney. “The funds are a key ingredient to facilitate the sale to a non-profit that will keep the hospital open and provide medical care for the region. Salem Memorial is the only acute care facility in the region and it is needed to provide medical care.”

Community Health Systems is currently trying to complete a sale with Inspira but the resources from the trust fund are key to the transaction. The money, designated as “charitable assets,” was sent by the Salem Foundation to the Community Foundation of New Jersey, located in Morris County.

“The potential sale fell through but there is an opportunity for another sale that we can’t allow to have the same fate,” said Assemblyman Burzichelli. “There is a risk that the hospital would be forced to close, which would be catastrophic for the region.”

The hospital has been losing money, staff and patients over the past decade, according to papers filed with the Department of Health. During its ownership under CHS, the hospital has closed its maternity ward and gone from a state-registered 140-bed facility to a 126-bed facility. When the New Jersey State Health Planning Board held a public hearing in January, many involved with the hospital pleaded for the sale to be OK’d, saying that it is very hard to recruit physicians and nurses because of the level of uncertainty.

The hospital is also one of the county’s major employers.

“The Health Department said that a transfer of the hospital assets will strengthen the hospital, positioning it to meet the health care needs of the residents of Salem County in the most optimal manner,” said Assemblyman Taliaferro. “The application notes that the only option to the transfer of ownership of Salem Hospital is the closure of the hospital, which CHS considered an unacceptable option given the absence of available acute care services in the area.”

The transfer of the funds back to Salem is possible due to legislation sponsored by Senator Sweeney and Assemblyman Burzichelli that became law in 2015.

Joining the legislators in support were Bernie Gerard, Vice President of the HPAE, New Jersey’s largest nurses and healthcare professional union, Patrice Sharkey, RN at Memorial Hospital, and Dr. Douglas E. Mazzuca, Sr. and Dr. Amante DeCastro, doctors at the hospital.

“The hospital’s affiliation with a strong partner will provide the necessary infusion of capital that will enhance the functional and operation efficiencies, will attract additional medical staff, and will provide the strategic leadership and assets needed for Salem Hospital to continue its mission to provide quality affordable care for the residents,” said Bernie Gerard, Vice President of the HPAE. “Our nurses need support to provide the medical care that is so important.”

“It is important that we maintain quality health care that is available to the residents of South Jersey and Salem County,” said Dr. Douglas E. Mazzuca, Sr. “I am grateful for the active leadership by public officials in support of Salem Hospital and the medical professionals who serve the community.”

Memorial Hospital was founded in 1919 in downtown Salem City. In 1951 it moved to its current location in Mannington Township.

The non-profit hospital was sold in 2002 for $35 million to the for-profit Community Health Systems. Proceeds from the sale went to create the Salem Health and Wellness Foundation to provide health services in the county that the hospital did not provide. The value of the fund has increased to $51 million.