The Good News: We Are Getting Our Day In Court

The new judge approved the amicus request to address the court. Renée Steinhagen of the NJ Appleseed Law Group will be speaking to the court and presenting the amicus brief on our behalf.

The Tricky News: It’s Tomorrow.

We learned this morning that the date, time, and location have been confirmed.

DATE: Thursday, June 18

TIME: 1:15 PM

LOCATION:
Hudson County Administration Building

Courtroom 908
595 Newark Ave.
Jersey City, NJ

Note: This is NOT at the William J. Brennan Courthouse.
This is the modern building directly next door.

This hearing is open to the public. We urge you to join us.

A few news updates related to the closure:

The Department of Health Case: Heights Hospital Landlord Forces Hearing Postponement (Jersey City Times)

The Capacity at Jersey City Medical Center: As Negotiations Begin, Residents at Medical Center Say Pay Doesn’t Cover High Rent, Student Debt (Jersey City Times)

The Zoning Case: “Court Strikes Down Ban on Senior Housing on Christ Hospital Site” (Better Blocks NJ)

The Legislation: “NJ panel OKs bill to boost state oversight of struggling hospitals” (New Jersey Monitor)

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More to come soon.

Your neighbor,
Caitlin

A quick recap of how we got here:

November 2025: HRH shut Christ Hospital without DOH approval, which is required by state law before any acute care hospital can close. Staff and community got three days’ notice. After pushback, HRH kept the ER open but shuttered all other hospital services.

January 2026: The DOH fined HRH for bypassing the required Certificate of Need (CoN) process. The CoN process, which governs the closure of medical services, includes a mandatory public hearing where community members are supposed to be able to share how the hospital closure would affect the community. .

February – March 2026: HRH attempted to close the ER twice more. Community pressure delayed it twice. On March 14, the ER closed permanently — the third attempt finally stuck. That same day, the DOH declared HRH’s CoN application complete, triggering the formal public review.

April 2026: The DOH scheduled the mandatory public hearing. HRH tried to withdraw their CoN application to cancel it. The DOH rejected their withdrawal request, because you cannot withdraw a closure application for a hospital that is already closed.

Twenty minutes before the hearing was to begin, HRH sued the DOH and obtained a Temporary Restraining Order.

Today: The mandatory public hearing still has not happened. HRH and its landlord have delayed the court case multiple times. A new judge has been assigned. The new court date is this Thursday, June 18.

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The CDC reports a national average of 2.4 ER beds per 1,000 people. After the closure of Christ Hospital, Jersey City’s 300,000 residents have 1.2 per 1,000. Union City and West New York, both atop the Hudson Palisade, also depended on it for emergency access.

On any given weekday, an additional 400,000 people come to Jersey City for work or pass through via the Holland Tunnel and PATH trains.

The total affected population on a commuting day is nearly 700,000 people.

All served by the single emergency room at JCMC.

Jersey City Medical Center staff are already picketing over capacity and working conditions. This is what a compromised emergency system looks like.

A new court date is tentatively set for this Thursday, June 18. Details have yet to be confirmed.

The Save Our Hospital Coalition is organized and not going anywhere.

Watch this space for a Thursday update. If you know someone in Jersey City, Union City, or West New York who doesn’t know what’s happened to their hospital, please pass the information along. It could save a life.

More to come soon.

Your neighbor,
Caitlin

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Please join the Save Our Hospital Coalition today for our rally at the courthouse.

TIME:
11:15 AM - 12:00 PM

LOCATION:
William J. Brennan Courthouse
583 Newark Ave
Jersey City, NJ 07306

This is the third time the community was scheduled to have our voices added to the record, and the third time we’ve been delayed.

At 11:30, we’ll be reading a few of the testimonies included in the amicus brief.

We may be delayed, but we will continue to speak.

See you there.

Your neighbor,
Caitlin

First and foremost, we are still rallying tomorrow.

That said, I have a disappointing update.

At 9:00 pm last night, the landlord for Christ Hospital filed a “Motion to Intervene” with the court.

There is a conflict of interest between Judge Costello and the landlord’s legal representation.

As of 3:00 pm today, the case has been reassigned to a new judge and tentatively rescheduled for June 18.

This is the second time the case has been rescheduled.

This is the third time the community was scheduled to speak and delayed at the last second.

We are making sure our voices are heard.

Join us tomorrow.

DATE: Friday, June 5

TIME: 11:15 AM LOCATION: William J. Brennan Courthouse

583 Newark Ave.

Jersey City, NJ 07307

See you at the courthouse.

Your neighbor,
Caitlin

Original Post:

We will be rallying in person.

While the court hearing is happening virtually, we have identified some serious concerns regarding the public’s ability to join the call.

We will be broadcasting the call from a speaker out front of the courthouse and need as many people to join as possible.

DATE: Friday, June 5

TIME: 11:15 AM

LOCATION: William J. Brennan Courthouse

583 Newark Ave.

Jersey City, NJ 07307

We will be out front of the court house by 11:15 am. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 11:30 am. The coalition will be outside for as long as the hearing lasts.

For additional context on why we’re pivoting:

We initially were told by the Judge’s Chambers that the hearing will be held on Zoom. However, the instructions to join did not include the typically-expected Zoom link.

Instead, we were given a phone number, meeting ID number, and participant ID number to share with all interested parties.

Upon contacting the Judge’s Chambers for additional details, we were informed of the following:

• The entire hearing will be through teleconference. There are no video components. Anybody addressing the court will not see the judge.
  

• By assigning one participating ID number, there is no way to quantify how many people use it. We will not be able to see how many community members join.
  

• Anyone who joins the teleconference will not be muted. Any background noise or interference from callers could disrupt proceedings.

To ensure we do not disrupt the court proceedings AND still have a way for the community to show force, we are pivoting back to an in-person rally.

Spread the word - we need your help now, more than ever before.

Your neighbor,
Caitlin

We have good news!

It’s confirmed: the hearing is scheduled for 11:30 am this Friday, June 5 via Zoom.

Click here to add the call to your calendar:

Add to Calendar

It is essential to have as many people join the Zoom call as possible. This is how we digitally “pack the court”, so we urge you to join if you can.

INSTRUCTIONS TO JOIN:

- Call 201-356-2666
- Meeting Code: 60270#
- Attendee Code: 8342563#

Many more updates to come shortly. Stay tuned.

Your neighbor,
Caitlin

It’s been a very busy few weeks since the hearing (maybe say meeting or ad hoc community meeting)at Dickinson High School on April 15.

If you recall, the Department of Health was scheduled to hear community testimony regarding the illegal closure of Heights University Hospital (commonly known as Christ Hospital) by Hudson Regional Health.

Instead, just 20 minutes before it was supposed to start, the Department of Health received a temporary restraining order, preventing them from holding the hearing. DoH officials were forced to leave the building and travel back to Trenton.

Since then, the community has been working.

Hard.

WHAT’S HAPPENED SINCE THE TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER

The Save Our Hospital Coalition collaborated with Renee Steinhagen of NJ Appleseed, a public interest law center, and submitted an amicus brief to the court on behalf of the community.

This amicus brief includes testimonies from our community that Hudson Regional Health (HRH) tried to silence. It also includes a comprehensive timeline, from 2012 to May, 2026, of the hospital’s owners, deeds and leases.

This was filed with the court on May 15, and is available for anyone to read at the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aeGHADJv06f0VGWDIjIA6_qVCiGuTxvV/view?usp=sharing

HRH responded by requesting that the court dismiss our brief entirely.

But, as of today, May 29, the judge has decided in our favor.

“Proposed Amici’s amici curiae brief in support of Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is hereby accepted and shall be deemed filed.”

The hearing for this case is scheduled for Friday, June 5, 2026, but final time and location details have yet to be confirmed.

The Save Our Hospital Coalition will hold a rally and press conference outside of the court house on that date and need you to join us.

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/SZswRBdyP2rsj4DE6

Final details will be shared as soon as they are available, alongside additional updates from other areas of the fight to return acute care access to Jersey City Heights.

Thank you for being part of this effort.

More to come.

Your neighbor,
Caitlin