NJ hospital urged to consider medical mall instead

While Hackensack University Medical Center forges ahead with an application to reopen Pascack Valley Hospital, its opponents say a medical mall with outpatient care would better serve a region they believe already has too many hospital beds. Across the country and in New Jersey, in suburbs and in cities, about 50 medical malls have sprouted up in closed hospitals, bankrupt shopping centers and other sites to deliver healthcare to communities. The advantages of medical malls are one-stop shopping for patients — they provide everything from pediatric checkups to same-day surgery. They also allow physicians to expand their services and hospitals to improve market share by enhancing their outpatient services, experts say.