Hoboken University settles with creditors for $10M, sale moves forward

Thanks in part to $5 million in state support, debt-ridden Hoboken University Medical Center, which owes creditors $34 million, has reached a $10.2 million settlement with the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority, the creditors committee, and the City of Hoboken, reports BusinessWeek.

Yesterday, a judge approved of the settlement in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, allowing the sale of the nonprofit hospital to for-profit HUMC Holdco LLC to go forward as planned, notes the HobokenPatch. The state health commissioner still has to sign off on the sale.

According to Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, if the settlement hadn't been reached, the Hoboken Hospital Authority would have had to close the hospital and lay off more than 1,100 workers.

Now that sale is back on track, the prospective buyers are making plans to expand the facility to include a 120-bed nursing home and 50,000 square feet of medical office space, according to emails obtained by The Star Ledger. The additions would be completed within three years of the purchase.

HUMC Holdco has pledged $20 million in improvements to the Hoboken hospital, although it's unclear whether those enhancements include the nursing home and office space, notes the article.

For more:
- read the BusinessWeek article
- read the Star-Ledger article
- here's the HobokenPatch article