Partnership of Three Premier Healthcare Providers Would Deliver the Care that Bergen County Residents Need and Deserve at Bergen Regional Medical Center
Care Plus NJ Teams with Rutgers Medical School and Integrity House in Bid to Operate and Manage Bergen Regional Medical Center
A powerhouse partnership of three of New Jersey’s leading medical, behavioral health and addictions treatment providers has teamed up to submit a bid to take over management and operation of Bergen Regional Medical Center. Led by Bergen County-based mental health care provider Care Plus NJ, Inc., the partnership includes Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Integrity House, the state’s leading addictions treatment program. If successful in their bid, the partnership will re-name and re-brand Bergen Regional as Crossroads Medical Center, with a vision of once and for all delivering the comprehensive medical, behavioral health, addictions and “safety net” services that the people of Bergen County need and deserve.
The Crossroads Medical Center partnership brings a wealth of unparalleled behavioral health experience to the County. The three partners, Care Plus NJ, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Integrity House, have successfully worked together in collaboration on a number of behavioral health issues, and collectively the group has treated hundreds of thousands of individuals, primarily in northern New Jersey. Each of the partners is fully accredited, and has earned numerous commendations for quality and patient satisfaction.
The partnership represents a new vision for managing and operating Bergen Regional, one that is based on a full continuum of care that will end the “treat ‘em and street ‘em” pattern that has resulted in a revolving door of readmissions while driving up costs, and worse, does little to meet the needs of Bergen County residents – especially the most vulnerable, including our veterans, the working poor, domestic abuse victims and minority groups.
“When the county announced that they were accepting bids to operate and manage Bergen Regional, we at Care Plus NJ saw it as an opportunity to finally, once and for all, lead Bergen Regional to achieve the vision that the County intended for the hospital and for the people of Bergen County decades ago,” said Joseph Masciandaro, President and CEO of Care Plus NJ. “That vision is our focus. Our Crossroads Medical Center proposal is the only one with a core, primary mission of providing a full continuum of patient-focused, integrated care to Bergen County’s underserved populations. All other proposals are variations of the failed status quo.”
Significantly, the Crossroads Medical Center partnership is the only potential operator with experience in providing outpatient psychiatric care. As such, the partnership is committed to breaking the current repeated readmission cycle by implementing an enhanced, fully integrated continuum of inpatient and outpatient care, rigorous diversion and post-admission follow-up.
For years, the “brand name” area hospitals have actively divested themselves from providing behavioral health services, closing units and shuffling patients out. Conversely, the Crossroads Medical Center partnership will embrace behavioral health and addiction treatment, and continue to implement best practices that emphasize service to the underserved population groups within the County. This is especially significant given the current heroin and opioid addiction epidemic that has become a major public health crisis in Bergen County and the state overall.
To meet the healthcare needs of County residents, Crossroads Medical Center will offer a totally new system of care focused on an integrated care model, where the patient will receive comprehensive care and treatment. Rather than the “divisions of treatment” – treating individual ailments and diseases in isolation – which currently exists, Crossroads Medical Center will work to comprehensively and individually treat each patient so that they can achieve long-term health and recovery. At the same time, the Crossroads Medical Center partnership, will work within the community to provide prevention, intervention, treatment and, most importantly, aftercare — all with the goal of promoting longstanding health and recovery, and reducing repeated hospitalizations. This model of care is clearly aligned with the County’s longstanding vision and objectives for the management and operation of Bergen Regional.
“The Crossroads Medical Center vision is to create an integrated care model that will save the County tremendous amounts of money in the long term, and build a better, safer and healthier environment for County residents,” notes Masciandaro. “In so doing, Crossroads Medical Center will create better healthcare outcomes for the people of the greater Bergen County area and finally deliver on the promise of what this hospital should mean to the County and its people.”
The contract for the current for-profit operators of Bergen Regional Medical Center, which was set to end in March of 2017, was recently extended to accommodate the bidding, selection and transition process. The Crossroads Medical Center partnership is one of several groups that have submitted proposals to take over management and operation of the beleaguered hospital. It is expected that the County will select the new operation and management organization in mid-June.
About Care Plus NJ, Inc.
Care Plus NJ has been a community provider of outpatient mental health care since 1978, serving both adults and children throughout northern New Jersey. They will serve to manage the behavioral healthcare services of Crossroads Medical Center. The organization has an extensive reach into the community, already providing many of the aftercare and supportive services that patients would need once they leave the hospital. Care Plus NJ is accredited by the Joint Commission and was the first accredited Behavioral Health Home in New Jersey.
About Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School will oversee the Ambulatory Care Clinic operations and provide clinical and physician leadership at Crossroads Medical Center. Rutgers New Jersey Medical School was founded in 1954 and is the oldest school of medicine in the state. Dedicated to excellence in education, research, clinical care and community outreach, the medical school comprises 21 academic departments and works with several prominent healthcare partners throughout New Jersey. Its faculty consists of numerous world-renowned scientists and many of the region’s “Top Docs.”
About Integrity House
Integrity House, a nationally recognized non-profit substance use treatment organization with locations in Newark, Secaucus, Jersey City, Morris Plains and Toms River, New Jersey, will manage substance abuse services at Crossroads Medical Center, including inpatient detox, residential care, and outpatient services. Providing addiction treatment and support services for more than 2,700 individuals each year, Integrity House is one of the largest addiction treatment programs funded and licensed by the State of New Jersey. It offers a multitude of state-licensed, CARF accredited programs, in addition to a full continuum of care through a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to treatment for clients with substance use disorders from all of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
CarePlus NJ, INC. is dedicated to excellence in mental healthcare and has a commitment to life-long support needed by individuals and their families to ensure that they achieve their full potential and improve the quality of their lives.
