Bergen Regional Medical Center Partners with Care Plus Bergen

SKOKIE, Ill. – August 29, 2017 – A 1,000+ bed hospital and healthcare facility located in Paramus, NJ, Bergen Regional Medical Center (BRMC) is the fourth largest publically-owned hospital in the country^[1] and a safety-net provider that plays a critical role in the healthcare ecosystem of Bergen County and the broader region.  In particular, BRMC provides vital healthcare services to the elderly, indigent and those patients suffering from behavioral health and substance abuse issues.

BRMC was both owned and operated by Bergen County until 1998. In March of 1998,Bergen County entered into a lease and operating agreement with a private entity for the premises and operation of BRMC, which was set to expire in 2017.

Kaufman Hall’s role commenced with an assessment and evaluation of BRMC’s current market and financial position to assist Bergen County in determining the best strategic option to pursue for the hospital.  Given BRMC’s important role in providing vital healthcare services, the County determined that ownership of the BRMC facility should be retained, however, potential operating partnerships should be explored.  Among other required attributes, the County determined that mission-orientated providers, with the requisite clinical and operating expertise to succeed in an evolving healthcare environment should be sought as potential partners.  As a result of this determination, Kaufman Hall transitioned to a strategic advisory role, leading the design and implementation of an M&A process that  brought together three leading healthcare organizations to create an innovative partnership that met or exceeded all of Bergen County’s expectations.

In July, Bergen County announced a new long-term lease agreement with Care Plus Bergen, a newly formed not-for-profit organization.  BRMC will become a clinical affiliate of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (Rutgers Health), while Care Plus NJ and Integrity House will provide management and clinical oversight services.  Care Plus NJ is a leading provider of behavioral health services while Integrity House specializes in addiction treatment services.  Through the future deployment of additional primary care and specialist physicians provided by Rutgers Health, BRMC should be able to significantly expand access to a continuum of integrated acute, behavioral health, detox and long-term care services to uninsured and underinsured patients of Bergen County and surrounding communities.   

Among other strategic advisory services provided, Kaufman Hall assisted with the structuring of this unique partnership.  In addition to certain other novel features, the lease agreement includes numerous quality, reporting and financial covenants to help ensure that Care Plus Bergen will operate BRMC in an effective and efficient manner over the long-term.

“This [partnership] is a new, exciting chapter for this hospital, its patients, and staff. And the people of Bergen County,” - James J. Tedesco III, County Executive of Bergen County

Recent trends show partnerships are occurring between entities of all sizes and types as healthcare organizations pursue strategic advancement or repositioning. Read the article: Diverse Activity Showcases New Rationale.

The partnership is expected to close in October 2017.

To learn more about how Kaufman Hall is assisting healthcare organizations with other strategic partnerships, please contact Anu Singh at ASingh@kaufmanhall.com or Andre Maksimow at AMaksimow@kaufmanhall.com .

^[1] Based on bed count

About Kaufman Hall

Kaufman Hall provides management consulting and software to help organizations realize sustained success amid changing market conditions. Since 1985, Kaufman Hall has been a trusted advisor to boards and executive management teams, helping them incorporate proven methods into their strategic planning and financial management processes, and quantify the financial impact of their plans and strategic decisions to consistently achieve their goals.

Kaufman Hall services use a rigorous, disciplined, and structured approach that is based on the principles of corporate finance. The breadth and integration of Kaufman Hall advisory services are unparalleled, encompassing strategy; financial and capital planning; cost transformation; treasury and capital markets management; and mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and joint ventures.

Kaufman Hall software includes the Axiom Healthcare Suite, providing sophisticated, flexible performance management solutions that empower finance professionals to analyze results, model the future, and optimize organizational decision making. Solutions for long-range planning, budgeting and forecasting, performance reporting, capital planning, and cost accounting deliver decision support, reporting, and analytics within an integrated software platform. Kaufman Hall’s Peak Software empowers healthcare organizations with clinical benchmarks, data, and analytics to provide a higher quality of care for optimized performance and improved patient outcomes.