The Bergen County Freeholder board unanimously voted July 12 to select Paramus, N.J.-based nonprofit Care Plus Bergen to operate Bergen Regional Medical Center, a 1,070-bed hospital also in Paramus, according to NorthJersey.com.
The agreement will be effective Oct. 1, according to an nj.com report. The county's management contract with for-profit hospital operator Bergen Regional Medical Center LP expired in March.
Care Plus Bergen beat out six other New Jersey organizations to obtain the 19-year contract. Competitors included Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center; Teaneck-based Holy Name Medical Center; Englewood Hospital and Medical Center; Ridgewood-based Valley Health System and Wyckoff-based Christian Health Care Center.
Officials selected Care Plus Bergen to manage the hospital despite objections by three state politicians. The legislators argued the July 12 vote should have been postponed because several state senators had questions about Care Plus Bergen's proposal, according to the report.