Riverdell Hospital
Encyclopedia
Riverdell Hospital was an 80-bed hospital at 576 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell
, New Jersey
in the United States
. The hospital was established in 1959 and thrived for many years until it became associated with the "Dr. X" murder trial of former chief surgeon Dr. Mario Jascalevich
. In an effort to revive its sinking fortunes, the hospital renamed itself in 1979, but closed in 1981 because of declining utilization and was torn down in 1984.
Jascalevich was hired as a surgeon in 1962 and developed a surgical stapler that was named for him. A series of unexplained deaths occurred in 1966. Initial investigations by the Bergen County, New Jersey
prosecutor's office found the deaths to be suspicious, but did not turn up any hard evidence of criminal action in the deaths. The case lay dormant for a decade, until M. A. Farber
of The New York Times
ran a six-month series of articles in 1976 that disclosed the fact that there had been 13 suspicious deaths at the hospital, referring to Jascalevich using the pseudonym "Dr. X". The case went to trial, with Jascalevich charged with three murders after two of the five original counts from the indictment were dropped. After what was then the longest criminal trial in New Jersey history, Jascalevich was acquitted.
A former administrator of the hospital told a reporter from The New York Times that admissions had dropped significantly once the hospital and doctor were identified in the media, and that the hospital's ability to attract qualified physicians had been severely harmed. The 80-bed hospital changed its name to Northern Community Hospital in 1979. By 1981 the decision was made to close the hospital, as only a third of its patient beds were filled and the hospital was losing a quarter of a million dollars annually. Efforts to turn the site into an alcohol rehabilitation center were turned down and the site became a target of vandalism. In June 1984, Riverdell Hospital was demolished. A 300-bed nursing home was proposed to fill the empty site of the demolished building.
Oradell, New Jersey
Oradell is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,978. The borough's territory includes a dam on the Hackensack River that forms the Oradell Reservoir...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The hospital was established in 1959 and thrived for many years until it became associated with the "Dr. X" murder trial of former chief surgeon Dr. Mario Jascalevich
Mario Jascalevich
The "Dr. X" killings were a series of suspicious deaths, by curare poisoning, in 1966 at a Bergen County, New Jersey hospital. A newspaper investigation during the mid-1960s led to the indictment of an Argentina-born physician, Mario Enrique Jascalevich , in 1976...
. In an effort to revive its sinking fortunes, the hospital renamed itself in 1979, but closed in 1981 because of declining utilization and was torn down in 1984.
Jascalevich was hired as a surgeon in 1962 and developed a surgical stapler that was named for him. A series of unexplained deaths occurred in 1966. Initial investigations by the Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
prosecutor's office found the deaths to be suspicious, but did not turn up any hard evidence of criminal action in the deaths. The case lay dormant for a decade, until M. A. Farber
M. A. Farber
Myron A. Farber is an American newspaper reporter for The New York Times, whose investigations into the deaths of several patients at an Oradell, New Jersey hospital led to the murder trial of Dr. Mario Jascalevich, a physician at the hospital who was alleged to have used a powerful muscle...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
ran a six-month series of articles in 1976 that disclosed the fact that there had been 13 suspicious deaths at the hospital, referring to Jascalevich using the pseudonym "Dr. X". The case went to trial, with Jascalevich charged with three murders after two of the five original counts from the indictment were dropped. After what was then the longest criminal trial in New Jersey history, Jascalevich was acquitted.
A former administrator of the hospital told a reporter from The New York Times that admissions had dropped significantly once the hospital and doctor were identified in the media, and that the hospital's ability to attract qualified physicians had been severely harmed. The 80-bed hospital changed its name to Northern Community Hospital in 1979. By 1981 the decision was made to close the hospital, as only a third of its patient beds were filled and the hospital was losing a quarter of a million dollars annually. Efforts to turn the site into an alcohol rehabilitation center were turned down and the site became a target of vandalism. In June 1984, Riverdell Hospital was demolished. A 300-bed nursing home was proposed to fill the empty site of the demolished building.