Frank Pallone

A deal will keep acute care inpatient services at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch for at least 10 years.

The agreement follows state approval for RWJBarnabas Health to move the hospital's license to a new facility in Tinton Falls.

Proposed legislation would create a pilot program allowing the hospital to operate acute-care services at both locations.

A deal brokered by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-NJ, will keep acute care inpatient hospital services at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, including surgical beds and operating rooms, for at least a decade after the new hospital in Tinton Falls opens.

The agreement with RWJBarnabas Health, Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey legislators would establish a pilot program at the 130-year-old Long Branch hospital, Pallone said in a statement.

Proposed legislation would allow RWJBarnabas Health to operate acute-care hospital services there, and at the new hospital to be built in Tinton Falls, for at least 10 years after the new hospital opens.

The legislation is moving through the state Senate and state Assembly and "will hopefully pass before the current state legislative session ends," Pallone said. The commissioner of health would be able to extend the pilot program.

Pallone's announcement on the evening of Jan. 8, shortly after the legislation passed through legislative committees, came hours after the New Jersey Department of Health approved a plan by RWJBarnabas to move Monmouth Medical Center's license from Long Branch to a new seven-story, 252-bed acute care hospital to be built at the company's Vogel Medical Campus, located at the former Fort Monmouth in Tinton Falls. The new hospital is expected to open in 2032.

The state's approval included conditions that Monmouth Medical retain a satellite emergency department, outpatient surgery services, outpatient clinics, a patient observation unit, imaging services, a satellite emergency room and inpatient psychiatric beds at the Long Branch hospital.

Now, under the proposed framework, Monmouth Medical Center also would continue with 48 surgical and observational beds, with up to 12 beds convertible to intensive care use. Operating rooms for major surgery also would continue and the hospital would retain its full-service emergency department.

The combination of acute care inpatient services under the pilot program and the conditions attached to the Tinton Falls approval will leave the Long Branch hospital with sufficient medical services to carry out its mission to Long Branch, Pallone said.

Monmouth Medical Center's original application to the health department included keeping inpatient surgical services and a full emergency department in Long Branch, but the state said current regulations do not allow for a split hospital license. The pilot program would allow for a split hospital license.

"From the moment I was informed that Long Branch-area residents would lose inpatient hospital services and a full-scale Emergency Department, I was worried that vulnerable populations would lose access to care," Pallone said. "I want to thank RWJBarnabas Health leadership, Governor Murphy and his administration, and our state legislative leadership for working with me to find a solution.”

The pilot program seeks to continue the investments and care delivered at Monmouth Medical Center, said George Helmy, executive vice president at RWJBarnabas Health, in a statement.

“RWJBarnabas Health remains steadfast in its commitment to transforming health care throughout Monmouth County," Helmy said. "This includes our promise to maintaining essential services in Long Branch and developing world-class facilities at the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls. This has always been our mission, and we have never wavered."

Palllone, who was born in Long Branch, led an effort against hospital's move to Tinton Falls and the loss of its acute care medical services.

"I am glad I was able to lift the voices of those who would be most impacted by this move, and I am truly thankful for all those involved that made this happen," Pallone said. "While I can fully appreciate the value of a new hospital in Tinton Falls, I could not let that be at the expense of those in the Long Branch area that face the biggest barriers to health care.”

State Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, hailed the agreement to "keep vital services at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch.

"Residents in Long Branch and now Tinton Falls and the surrounding area will be able to continue receiving life saving care," he said.