Hospitals take Pascack Valley Hospital case to NJ Supreme Court

Two New Jersey hospitals are taking their legal battle against the reopening of Pascack Valley Hospital to the state Supreme Court, saying the state health commissioner's call for a new hospital in Bergen County is "unlawful and unprecedented." In a strongly worded suit, The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center claim politics are at play and asked the court to stop the Health Department's "flagrant abuse" of the licensing process. "By filing this appeal, we are asking the New Jersey State Supreme Court to ensure a rational, deliberate and apolitical way to develop healthcare services," Valley officials said in a prepared statement. Hackensack University Medical Center is seeking to open a 128-bed acute care hospital at the site of the former Westwood hospital.