HEALTH-CARE STEERING COMMITTEE AND CATHOLIC HEALTH EAST ANNOUNCE CONTINUING NON-ACUTE SERVICES AT COLUMBUS CAMPUS

NEWARK, N.J. (April 30, 2008) –– North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos, Jr., joined today with representatives from Saint Michael’s Medical Center, Inc., a subsidiary of Catholic Health East (CHE), and their colleagues on Newark’s Health-care Steering Committee to announce that a satellite emergency department and various clinic services will continue in the North Ward following the cessation of acute-care services at Columbus Hospital. This announcement follows the efforts of the Steering Committee’s North Ward Subcommittee to identify essential health-care needs in the communities served by Columbus Hospital, which will cease acute care on or about June 1, 2008.

At a press conference held at the First Avenue School in Newark, Councilman Ramos announced that Saint Michael’s Medical Center, Inc. has agreed to operate a fully staffed 24-hour, seven-day satellite emergency department at what will become the Columbus Campus of Saint Michael’s Medical Center. A pediatric clinic and a prenatal clinic will also continue at the site, and plans for additional health-care services, such as an on-site imaging center, are being pursued.

“The decision to continue emergency care and other services is based on community need and on community input,” said Councilman Ramos, referring to a series of public meetings and focus group sessions held in the North Ward to solicit recommendations from residents. “It is essential that the hardworking families in and around the North Ward continue to have access to the health-care services they need.”

“When financial circumstances led Cathedral Healthcare System to seek State approval for the cessation of acute care at its two community hospitals, it became clear that prompt action was needed to preserve essential health services in the East and North wards,” said Assemblyman Ralph Caputo. “I’m optimistic that continued collaboration among the City, the city’s legislative delegation, and Saint Michael’s Medical Center, Inc. will help ensure that Newark residents continue to have access to top-quality care.”

“The satellite emergency department at the Columbus Campus will offer a full complement of diagnostic services and an effective link to Saint Michael’s Medical Center for patient transfers as needed,” said Judith Persichilli, executive vice president, Northeast Division, Catholic Health East. “A variety of continuing clinic services, combined with significant facility, infrastructure, and technology investments in Saint Michael’s, will help us safeguard the future of Catholic health care here in Newark. We are enormously grateful to Councilman Ramos, Mayor Booker, and our other colleagues on the North Ward Subcommittee for their guidance and support throughout this process.”

Catholic Health East, a multi-institutional Catholic health system co-sponsored by 10 religious congregations and Hope Ministries, is based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Catholic Health East provides the means to ensure the continuation of the Catholic identity and operational strength of the sponsors’ health ministries, which are located in 11 eastern states from Maine to Florida. The CHE system includes 33 acute-care hospitals, four long-term acute-care hospitals, 36 freestanding and hospital-based long-term care facilities, 12 assisted-living facilities, five continuing-care retirement communities, seven behavioral-health and rehabilitation facilities, 25 home health/hospice agencies, and numerous ambulatory and community-based health services. In New Jersey, other CHE affiliates include St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton and Lourdes Health System, with hospitals in Camden and Willingboro.