Hackensack University Medical Center got a green light Tuesday from a state regulatory panel to reopen Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood. Now the matter goes to State Health Commissioner Mary E. O'Dowd, who is expected to rule by year end?but her decision isn't expected to settle things. Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and Ridgewood's Valley Hospital are fighting the Pascack Valley reopening on the grounds that it will siphon off patients and weaken them financially.
