Memorial Hospital of Salem County
| Memorial Hospital of Salem County | |
|---|---|
| Prime Healthcare Foundation | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Salem, Salem County, New Jersey, United States |
| Organization | |
| Hospital type | For-profit (since 2002) |
| History | |
| Founded | 1919 |
The Memorial Hospital of Salem County (MHSC) is a hospital in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. The hospital was founded in 1919, after which it operated as a non-profit. It was founded in downtown Salem City and moved to Mannington Township in 1951. It has 126 beds, and in 2017, New Jersey approved a plan to sell it to Prime Healthcare Foundation.
In 2002, Community Health Systems acquired Memorial Hospital for $34 million. When the purchase occurred, the Salem Health and Wellness Foundation was formed, with the goal over overseeing donations and proceeds acquired by MHSC. This was because the state required the proceeds from the sale to Community Health Systems to be "overseen by a foundation that would pay to enhance medical services in the area." However, 12 years later, Senate President Steve Sweeney argued that the foundation was sitting on $56 million, and had "disbursed very little to expand health care services."
In 2010, a plan by MHSC to close its maternity ward was withdrawn after public outcry. In November 2013, the hospital's board again applied to close its maternity ward, so it could allocate resources to other areas such as surgical infrastructure. The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services approved the decision on April 1, 2014. The health department noted that the hospital had only one obstetrician at the staff, and births at the hospital had dropped from 385 in 2004 to 155 in 2012. As a condition of the closure, the hospital was still required to transport patients to other inpatient maternity services, or provide emergency stabilization to women arrive pregnant, and delivery in cases where birth is imminent. A local healthcare union spoke out against the decision, and Health Professionals and Allied Employees argued the closure would negatively affect local income-women. In the end of May 2014, the hospital closed its maternity ward.
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