New bill calls for hospital authority to oversee Bergen Regional

The bill proposes creating an 11-member board that would be responsible for finances and operations of the hospital. The board would be made up of medical staff, the county executive, Bergen County residents with expertise in nonprofit management, and appointees of state officials. The report states that under the bill, the board would have the authority to manage and operate the hospital’s contracts and allow it to partner with private companies for certain projects.

The future of Bergen Regional Medical Center is unclear as a lease agreement between Bergen County, which owns the hospital, and private operator, Bergen Regional Medical Center LP, is slated to expire in 2017.

New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), one of the bill’s sponsors, called the legislation, “a responsible way to ensure the effective operation of the hospital well into the future.”

According to The Record, freeholders Tracy Zur and John Felice, members of a healthcare advisory committee that has been studying the future of Bergen Regional Medical Center, viewed the bill as a means to have more transparency between the hospital management company and the county.

“I think this is something that was lacking,” Mr. Felice said, according to the report. “Our ability to have any oversight on what went on at Bergen Regional.”

Bergen Regional provides acute care, psychiatric and substance abuse treatment and long-term care.

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