Saint Peter's Hospital In New Brunswick Plans To Join Atlantic Health

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Saint Peter's hospital in New Brunswick announced Wednesday they intend to join Atlantic Health System.

Saint Peter's and Atlantic Health signed a letter of intent that plans to bring Saint Peter's into the Atlantic Health system of care. Atlantic Health dominates the hospital landscape in the north and west part of New Jersey, and includes highly-ranked hospitals in wealthy suburban areas, including Morristown Medical Center, Hackettstown Medical Center and Overlook Medical Center in Summit.

By contrast, Saint Peter's is an urban hospital in New Brunswick. As part of their mission as a Catholic hospital, a substantial portion of their patient base is low-income and undocumented people in New Brunswick.

In 2018, Saint Peter's put out a public request for proposals saying they were seeking to join with a larger healthcare system.

They were going to join RWJBarnabas , but in a surprise decision, that deal was rejected by the Federal Trade Commission, which said the proposed merger would create a healthcare monopoly in Middlesex County because the hospitals are located within a few miles of each other.

At the time, Saint Peter's said it was "very disappointed" the deal was unable to proceed. Ever since, they have been seeking a new affiliate, as the cost of providing healthcare continues to rise in America. (Deal Collapses For RWJBarnabas Health To Purchase Saint Peter's, 2022)

“For the past several years, Saint Peter’s has engaged in a discernment process, with the support of Rev. James F. Checchio, Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, and Saint Peter’s Board of Governors, to determine the best course for our long-term future,” said Saint Peter’s Healthcare System Leslie Hirsch this week.

"The most critical objective has been to find a path to secure our Catholic mission of serving the community, especially the most vulnerable, as we have done for more than 116 years. The hospital industry has substantially transformed over the past 10 years, and we remain the only single- hospital health system in Middlesex County and one of the few remaining in New Jersey," he continued. "Although Saint Peter’s is stronger today than ever, throughout this journey it has become clear that to assure our future success, we need a strategic partner whose resources, capabilities and values are aligned with our mission."

"We are very excited about the prospect of becoming a part of Atlantic Health as it has an excellent reputation for being a high-quality healthcare provider and our respective cultures are very well aligned.”

Saint Peter’s would remain a Catholic hospital, and would abide by the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. These Catholic guidelines, which you can read here, prohibit medical interventions such as abortion and euthanasia.

Under the terms of the tentative deal, Atlantic Health said it would make "significant" investments in Saint Peter’s and is surrounding service area of New Brunswick, but did not provide specifics.

Saint Peter’s has an approximate $600 million operating budget, and just added a new midwife-focused maternity wing in 2019; see photos here.

“Today is the first step on an exciting path towards a joining of talents between Saint Peter’s and Atlantic Health System that will benefit the health and well-being of the people of New Jersey,” said Brian Gragnolati, president and CEO of Atlantic Health System. “We are thrilled to partner with Saint Peter's to ensure that high quality, affordable and accessible care remains available to all who need it.”

With 20,000 employees, Atlantic Health System is one of the largest employers in the state. Atlantic Health System serves more than half of the state of New Jersey including 14 counties and 7.5 million people.

Atlantic Health is a not-for-profit that owns seven hospitals in New Jersey: Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, Newton Medical Center in Newton, NJ, Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ, Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ, Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ, Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute in Madison, NJ and through its partnership with CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, NJ.

Atlantic Health System has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and is home to the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers and is the official health care partner of the New York Jets.