Raritan Bay Medical Center (RBMC) consists of two general acute care hospitals, located within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, servicing the

Raritan Bayshore The Raritan Bayshore region of New Jersey is a subregion of the larger Jersey Shore. It is the area around Raritan Bay from The Amboys to Sandy Hook, in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, including the towns of Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, ...

communities in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

and Monmouth counties. The hospitals are located in Old Bridge (113 bed) and

Perth Amboy Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy has a Hispanic majority population. In the 2010 census, th ...

(365 bed); both are

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, academic medical centers servicing the Central Jersey area. RBMC is a part of the Hackensack Meridian Healthcare network.

History

The Raritan Bay Medical Center history dates to March 9, 1887 when the Perth Amboy Hospital Association filed papers with the state to build a hospital. Capital shortage delayed the eventual building of the hospital. In 1889 the Women's Hospital Guild was unable to raise the $6000 needed to buy a property on Gordon Street as a site for the hospital. It was not until 1900 that land was obtained for the hospital, when Cortland Parker offered 6 lots on New Brunswick Turnpike. The hospital was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1901. The $15,000 Perth Amboy City Hospital was opened in 1902 with 12 beds and six doctors. In 1903, the School of Nursing opened. The name was changed to Perth Amboy General Hospital in 1929, and more recently to Raritan Bay Medical Center. Growth had been sustained until the 2010s, when it had to cut back.

Timeline

*1907: 10 employees and 240 patients *1912: first births *1928: 62 employees, 2579 admissions and 252 babies born *1947: 271 bed hospital *1978: Old Bridge Regional Hospital was opened as part of the health service corporation

Merger with Hackensack Meridian Health

In the 2010s the hospital was caught in a downward financial spiral. A 2013 review showed RBMC operated at a loss and had a debt of $36 million. RBMC could not keep up with the newer insurance models, charity care and the funding of an employee pension plan. 75% of its patients had either Medicare or

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...

, each having lower reimbursements than commercial insurance. The hospital had to put off capital projects needed to remain competitive. The solution was consolidation with a larger organization to make up for lack of scale. After a five-year search for a partner, and what was described as "a very challenging past for a variety of reasons," RBMC merged with Hackensack Meridian Health in early 2016. Preserving RBMC was welcomed by Perth Amboy city officials. Former Mayor Wilda Diaz stated: "Their presence in this city not only impacts the health and welfare of our residents, but they also employ approximately 1,200 people, making it the largest employer in the City of Perth Amboy and an integral part of our community." This consolidation was part of a statewide pattern of hospital consolidation; as of February, 2020, of 70 previously independent hospitals in New Jersey only 10 remained so.

About

RBMC has over 500 beds in its two hospitals with a staff of over 500 physicians. It is a "major clinical affiliate" of the

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is a medical school of Rutgers University. It is one of the two graduate medical schools of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, together with New Jersey Medical School, and is closely aligned with R ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

. In addition to the hospitals, at the Medical Pavilion in Woodbridge RBMC provides outpatient services for cardiology, obstetrics/gynecology and physical therapy, and maintains an

urgent care center An urgent care center (UCC), also known as an urgent treatment centre in the United Kingdom, is a type of walk-in clinic focused on the delivery of urgent ambulatory care in a dedicated medical facility outside of a traditional emergency department ...

. According to ''U.S. News & World Report'', in 2021 it ranks among New Jersey's top 15 hospitals for maternity care.

References

External links