State Health Board Approves Monmouth Medical Center Leaving Long Branch, Relocating To Tinton Falls

LONG BRANCH, NJ — On Thursday morning, the State Health Planning Board unanimously approved RWJBarnabas Health's application to relocate Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) to Tinton Falls.

What's next? The application now heads to the desk of acting New Jersey Health Commissioner Jeffrey Brown, who is likely to approve it, based on how the board voted Thursday. (Gov. Phil Murphy, who appointed Brown, supports MMC's relocation to Tinton Falls.)

"We now look forward to the next phase of the process in which Acting Health Commissioner Brown will have the opportunity to review the application and make the final determination," said an RWJBarnabas Health spokesman.

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ6) said immediately after the board voted he hopes Brown denies the application.

“At this point, Commissioner Brown has all the information he needs to do the right thing and keep Monmouth Medical Center Hospital in Long Branch open," said Pallone. “The Commissioner should not let a low-income community become a hospital desert because RWJBarnabas wants to capture a wealthier population in Tinton Falls.”

The State Health Board made their decision after a key recommendation was handed down Thursday morning from the New Jersey Department of Health, which announced it approves the relocation. The Dept. of Health said relocating to Tinton Falls is the best option for Monmouth Medical Center, saying it finds MMC's current location in Long Branch to be "below standards." Patient rooms are "disconnected," are a long walk from nurses' stations, and the hospital has double-occupancy shared rooms and a lack of parking, said the state.

Monmouth Medical Center will move to a new home at what will be called the Vogel Medical Campus in the area of Pearl Harbor Avenue and Corregidor Road, on the former Fort Monmouth property in Tinton Falls. What will move there:

• Labor and delivery
• All cancer care
• The Unterberg Children's Hospital
• Overnight surgery
• Cardiac and stroke care

Construction has not yet started on the new Tinton Falls medical campus, which is supposed to open in 2032. However, construction did start on the cancer center, which is expected to open in late 2026.

What will remain behind in Long Branch? The Department of Health said Monmouth Medical Center "will have a continued presence in Long Branch, including an ER, same-day surgery, psychiatric care and outpatient clinics," plus scanning/imaging.

However, RWJBarnabas plans to drastically shrink MMC's footprint in Long Branch by 65 percent, reducing it from one million square feet to 345,000 square feet. RWJBarnabas plans to tear down a number of MMC buildings, which Pallone said is only further evidence the entire hospital lot will one day be sold to become condos.

The Dept. of Health set a number of conditions RWJBarnabas Health must meet. Among them are:

• RWJBarnabas Health must provide a free, no-charge transportation shuttle to take people from the Long Branch hospital site to the Vogel campus. The shuttle must run daily from 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. RWJBarnabas promised it will work with NJ Transit, Uber and other transportation providers to provide the shuttle.
• Monmouth Medical Center employees in Long Branch will be given priority to be hired at the new Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls.
• The same-day surgery center and outpatient clinics that will remain behind in Long Branch have to be open for a minimum of five years.
• RWJBarnabas has to form a community advisory group (CAG) made up of Long Branch residents to talk about how to improve healthcare and access to healthcare for the people of Long Branch.

Monmouth Medical Center CEO Eric Carney thanked the Dept. of Health for their decision Thursday.

"We have an opportunity to build a state-of-the-art hospital that everyone deserves," Carney said.

Just before he voted, State Health Planning Board member Kevin Slavin, retired CEO of St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, said he enthusiastically supports MMC relocating, saying it was "not only a responsible plan, but a forward-thinking one."

Slavin called MMC's current hospital buildings in Long Branch "old, outdated and in some cases sub standard."

"Anytime we can build a new hospital in New Jersey, we should," he said.

On this topic: New Hospital, Cancer Center Coming To Tinton Falls: Everything You Need To Know

Gov. Murphy Calls Monmouth Medical Center Relocating To Tinton Falls A 'Win-Win,' Supports The Move

State Of NJ Will Decide Dec. 18 If Monmouth Medical Center Can Relocate To Tinton Fall

RWJBarnabas Plans To Tear Down Some Buildings At Monmouth Medical Center