January 18,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, councilmen Ramon Hache sums up the Valley Hospital Litigation. One of the most divisive issues we covered on the Ridgewood blog.
Councilmen Hache, “2017 may have seen the end to 8 years of litigation and 10 years of controversy that caused one of the most significant divides in the history of Ridgewood. The announcement of Valley Hospital in January 2017 to move the Hospital’s acute care in-patient facility to Paramus was the catalyst to resolving the major issues between the Hospital and the Village and anti-expansion residents.
Although never challenging Valley’s right or interest in expanding to provide 21st century healthcare, the location of the expansion at the Linwood Avenue campus and its breadth were the contentious issues that were litigated in trial in 2016. Once the Hospital’s intention to move to Paramus was made public and it filed a Certificate of Need with the State to approve such move, the parties to the litigation entered into serious and extensive settlement negotiations while the appeal of the trial decision was pending.
In October, 2017, a tentative settlement was reached which was later accepted by the Village Council in November. The settlement is based upon the hope that the Certificate of Need is granted by the State. If it is granted, the Hospital intends to keep the size of the Ridgewood facility in tact, only modifying the site for a new power plant and exhaust stack, and changing some of the heath care related services provided at the site, even possibly providing space for senior housing. A decision on the Certificate of Need from the state Department of health is expected in early 2018.”