MONMOUTH COUNTY – Hackensack Meridian Health is warning that a state-backed plan to move Monmouth Medical Center out of Long Branch will jeopardize patient safety and strain hospitals across Monmouth County.
The New Jersey Department of Health recently advanced RWJBarnabas Health’s proposal to relocate the full-service hospital, a decision Hackensack Meridian Health called “a mistake that will endanger patients and destabilize regional healthcare.”
In a statement, Hackensack Meridian said removing the hospital from Long Branch would “abandon the city’s most vulnerable residents,” particularly those who are uninsured, chronically ill, or lack access to reliable transportation. The system noted that replacing Monmouth Medical Center with a smaller satellite facility would eliminate critical services such as maternity care, cardiac treatment, and emergency stroke response.
“As Long Branch grows, it needs more healthcare access, not less,” the statement said.
Officials warned the move would also have ripple effects at Hackensack Meridian’s Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, which are already operating near capacity. The anticipated influx of patients from Long Branch, they said, could “push our facility to a breaking point” and reduce care quality across the region.
While expansion plans are underway at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian said those projects were planned before the proposed relocation and cannot absorb the expected surge in demand.
Calling the Department of Health’s approval “the first step in the process,” Hackensack Meridian Health vowed to “continue to fight through all potential avenues” to preserve acute care services for residents of Long Branch, Neptune, and greater Monmouth County.
