Jersey City Medical Center
Encyclopedia
- For the former JCMC complex and historical site, see: Beacon, Jersey City.
The Jersey City Medical Center is a hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
. The hospital has had different facilities in the city.
History
The hospital began as the "Charity Hospital" but the Board of Aldermen of Jersey City bought land at Baldwin Avenue and Montgomery Street in 1882 for a new hospital. The locale was chosen to remove the hospital from the industrial development at Paulus HookPaulus Hook, Jersey City
Paulus Hook is a community on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey, located one mile across the river from Manhattan. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck" which translates into "point of land." This "point of land" has been described as an elevated area, the location...
. This building is now the Medical Center building. It was renamed the Jersey City Hospital in 1885 and had expanded to 200 beds. In 1909, the original hospital building was reserved for men and a second wing was added for women. When Frank Hague
Frank Hague
Frank Hague was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 1917 to 1947, Democratic National Committeeman from New Jersey from 1922 until 1949, and Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1924 until 1949.Hague has a widely-known...
became mayor of Jersey City in 1917, he planned to expand the hospital. He had the original building renovated and constructed a new 23-story structure for surgery, known as The Orpheum. The new facility opened in 1931, and George O'Hanlon was the first director. With money from the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
new buildings were added during The Great Depression. The formal dedication of the Medical Center Complex, the B. S. Pollack Hospital, was on October 2, 1936, with Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
dedicating the building. During the 1950s, JCMC was the home of the medical school of Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
the predecessor to the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry now located in Newark, NJ. The Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
buildings of the former JCMC complex are being renovated as The Beacon Jersey City
The Beacon Jersey City
Beacon is a new mixed-use development emerging from the historic restoration of the original complex of the Jersey City Medical Center. It is located on a site on Bergen Hill, a crest of the Hudson Palisades and one of the highest geographical points in Jersey City, New Jersey. It creates the...
.
Current operations
In 1988, the Medical Center declared bankruptcy and became a private, non-profit organization. In 1994, the State of New Jersey designated the Medical Center as a regional trauma center, and in the late 1990s it was approved as a core teaching affiliate of Mount Sinai School of MedicineMount Sinai School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine is an American medical school in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, currently ranked among the top 20 medical schools in the United States. It was chartered by Mount Sinai Hospital in 1963....
. The hospital also has a teaching affiliation with the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
New York College of Osteopathic Medicine is the osteopathic medical college of the New York Institute of Technology located in Old Westbury, Long Island, NY. Established in 1977, NYCOM is one of only two accredited medical institutions in Nassau County, New York...
. The facility is currently operated by Liberty Health.
In 2004, JCMC moved to new quarters at Grand Street and Jersey Avenue.
JCMC received among the highest scores in Hudson County in the New Jersey Department of Health's 2009 Hospital Performance Report. The Center scored in the top 10 percent of hospitals in the state for their care of heart attacks, surgical improvements, and heart failure, receiving the second-highest score behind North Bergen's Palisades Medical Center
Palisades Medical Center
Palisades Medical Center is a regional hospital in North Bergen, New Jersey. The hospital has approximately 202 beds and serves approximately 350,000 people in Southern Bergen and Hudson counties...
. JCMC received a 95 in pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
treatment, 97 in heart attack, heart failure and surgical care, percentages that represent the number of patients treated properly and released.
The JCMC comprises two main hospital facilities, the Wilzig Hospital (named after Alan Wilzig
Alan Wilzig
Alan Wilzig is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, championship-winning race car driver, and restaurateur. He is also son of the late Siggi Wilzig, a German Holocaust survivor. Alan's father rose to fame after coming to America with nothing and eventually earned his fortune in finance...
) and the Provident Bank Ambulatory Center.
While not directly connected to the JCMC, a 2.5 acre parcel owned by the city is planned to become a Proton therapy
Proton therapy
Proton therapy is a type of particle therapy which uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often in the treatment of cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy is the ability to more precisely localize the radiation dosage when compared with other types of external beam...
treatment center, though the deal is contigent on tax-abatements the city is reluctant to give.