Hoboken University Medical Center is a community

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

located in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

with 190 beds. It was founded in 1863 as St. Mary Hospital and operated under that name until 2007. The hospital is owned by Hudson Hospital Opco, known as CarePoint Health, an organization that also owns

Bayonne Medical Center CarePoint Health Bayonne Medical Center is a hospital in Bayonne, New Jersey. It has 278 beds and was founded in 1888. One of six hospitals in Hudson County, the Bayonne Medical Center is affiliated with Hoboken University Medical Center and ...

and Christ Hospital. The hospital is an academic affiliate of

New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a Private university, private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the ...

and was previously an academic affiliate of

New Jersey Medical School New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) is the medical school of Rutgers University, a public university in Newark, New Jersey. It has been part of the Rutgers Health since the 2013 dissolution of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey ...

History

Hoboken University Medical Center was the second hospital to be established in the state of New Jersey. In 2013 it celebrated its 150th anniversary, becoming the state's oldest operating hospital. St. Mary Hospital was established on January 8, 1863, as a

community hospital A community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. When specific, it refers to a hospital that is accessible to the general public and provides a general or specific medical care which is usually short-term, i ...

founded by the Poor Sisters of St. Francis. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

the hospital treated returning wounded soldiers. The Sisters originally purchased five lots at Fourth and Willow Streets with money raised through donations. The

Stevens family The Stevens family was a prominent American family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the formation of the United States (especially New York City and New Jersey), in leading gov ...

, through the efforts of Martha Bayard Stevens, donated additional land and endowed a St. Martha's Ward to the new hospital.

Early 1900s

One of St. Mary's more notable patients was

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

William Jay Gaynor William Jay Gaynor (February 2, 1849 – September 10, 1913) was an American politician from New York City, associated with the Tammany Hall political machine. He served as the 94th mayor of the City of New York from 1910 to 1913, and previously ...

, who was shot on August 9, 1910, as he boarded the

SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' ("Emperor William the Great") was a German transatlantic ocean liner in service from 1897 to 1914, when she was scuttled in battle. She was the largest ship in the world for a time, and held the Blue Riband until C ...

at the Hoboken piers. The assailant was James J. Gallagher, who had been fired from his job in the New York City Docks Department and who blamed the mayor for his troubles. Gaynor was rushed to St. Mary Hospital where he stayed for over three weeks in critical condition before he was released. He lived for another three years, continuing to serve as Mayor, until his sudden death as a result of the attack.

WWI and the Great Depression

When America entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1917, the Federal Government took over the operation of St. Mary Hospital. Since Hoboken was the main port of the

New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering th ...

through which nearly two million soldiers passed, the hospital became known as "Embarkation Hospital Number One." After the war, the Army returned the hospital to the Franciscan Sisters. In 1927, St. Mary opened one of the first

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

(TB) clinics in the State. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the Sisters opened a

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to Hunger, hungry and homeless people, usually for no price, cost, or sometimes at a below-market price (such as coin Donation, donations). Frequently located in Low i ...

that fed 200 to 300 people twice a day. This facility remained open for many years.

Clinical Services

Care facilities at the hospital include Emergency Services, Oncology, Orthopedic, Hemodialysis, Obstetrics, Nuclear Medicine, Rehab/Physical therapy, ICU, Psychiatry, Skilled Nursing, and Inpatient Surgery/Robotic surgery. The hospital received awards in excellence for Labor and Delivery in 2021 for superior clinical care of women during and after childbirth. Hoboken University Medical Center is one of 332 national US hospitals with the lowest CAUTI rates (catheter associated urinary tract infections) from data collected in 2019. In 2022, CarePoint Health announced an agreement with

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irvin ...

to provide access to premiere colorectal surgeons. Accredited Services include the CarePoint Health Sleep Center, Primary Stroke Center, and School of Radiation. March 2022 an emergency physician employed by Carepoint Health at HUMC was arrested and charged with numerous drug offenses as per the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hoboken Police Department.

Awards and recognition

Hoboken University Medical Center has earned the

Joint Commission The Joint Commission is a United States-based nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c) organization that accredits more than 22,000 US health care organizations and programs. The international branch accredits medical services from around the world. A majori ...

's Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital Accreditation.

Graduate Medical Education

The hospital is a teaching site and trains 44 interns/residents per year in total. Its Family Medicine residency program has been accredited since 1982 by the

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is the body responsible for accrediting all graduate medical training programs —internships, residencies, and fellowships (subspecialty programs) — for physicians in the United ...

(ACGME) and provides full-scope training with an emphasis on obstetrics and primary preventive care. The hospital also provides training for rotating medical students.

Acquisition by Bon Secours

After nearly 140 years of operation, St. Mary Hospital was sold to the Bon Secours Health System, Inc. in 2000 by the

Franciscan Sisters of the Poor The Franciscan Sisters of the Poor (, abbreviated to S.F.P.) are a religious congregation which was established in 1959 as an independent branch from the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of St. Francis, founded in Germany by Blessed Frances Scher ...

, who had split off from the German congregation. That following year, Bon Secours formed a partnership with Canterbury Health, a company that owned the

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

-affiliated Christ Hospital in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

at the time. The union ended on December 31, 2004, however, after Canterbury claimed that Bon Secours had not disclosed the true financial health of St. Francis Hospital in Jersey City (which had also been founded by the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor in 1864 and had been sold to the Bon Secours System at the same time) as well as that of St. Mary.

Acquisition by CarePoint Health

The Bon Secours Health Care System was unable to stem the financial losses in operating the facility. They worked out an agreement with the City of Hoboken to purchase the hospital and assume all its debts. This occurred in 2007, at which time the hospital was renamed to the one it currently has. The hospital was sold again in 2011 after it appeared that the City of Hoboken would become liable for $52 million in bonds which it had floated to keep the hospital open. CarePoint Health has announced that it would transition the hospital into a non-profit in 2021. CarePoint Health is led by CEO and neonatal cardiac surgeon Dr. Achintya Moulick, MD, MBA. The transfer to CarePoint Health received regulatory approval in March 2023. In November 2024, CarePoint Health filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

protection, blaming high rising costs and lack of state funding from New Jersey. The company listed assets between $500,001 to $1 million, and liabilities of no more than $50,000. CarePoint plans to keep its hospitals operating as it invests $67 million in financing.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1863 Buildings and structures in Hoboken, New Jersey Hospitals established in 1863 Hospitals in Hudson County, New Jersey Former Catholic hospitals Franciscan hospitals Teaching hospitals in New Jersey Catholic hospitals in the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024