By Sunayana Prabhu
LONG BRANCH – After a yearlong regulatory review and months of contentious community debate, Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) secured final approval from the state health department Jan. 8 to relocate its acute care services from Long Branch to a new $858.7 million hospital to be constructed in Tinton Falls.
The state also announced that emergency and outpatient services, including specialty clinics and imaging services, will continue to operate in Long Branch indefinitely. The behavioral health hospital with both inpatient and outpatient services will also remain in Long Branch.
MMC’s Certificate of Need application was approved with conditions by the New Jersey Department of Health’s Deputy Commissioner Novneet Sahu, M.D., following a unanimous recommendation from the State Health Planning Board Dec. 18. Acting Commissioner Jeffrey Brown recused himself from participating in the final decision because he previously oversaw the NJDOH’s Health Systems Branch when the application was filed.
The move will shift MMC – owned by RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH) – approximately 6.5 miles west to a 36-acre site on the Tinton Falls section of the former Fort Monmouth, where RWJBH plans to build the new 252-bed Vogel Medical Center. The system acquired the land in 2022, including the former Myer research building, which is now the Ann Vogel Medical Campus.
RWJBH expects to begin the design phase in the coming months and is targeting a 2032 opening for the new hospital.
In an emailed statement, MMC president and CEO Eric Carney said the approval is “a major step.”
“This decision clears the way for a new, state-of-the-art, acute-care hospital in Tinton Falls and much-needed improvements to our existing site in Long Branch,” Carney said. “These investments will bring the latest advanced technology and treatments, modern facilities, and world-class academic medicine closer to home for more patients.”
RWJBarnabas owns MMC’s existing 13-acre Long Branch campus, which houses an over-a-century-old hospital. The system originally applied to split mandatory services between both campuses under a unified license. That plan was amended in February 2025 to fully relocate all required inpatient services, including maternity, surgery and medical-surgical beds, to Tinton Falls.
Sahu’s approval letter permits MMC’s relocation to Tinton Falls, along with its designations as a regional perinatal center, children’s hospital and primary stroke center. But the state also requires MMC to maintain a substantial health care presence at the Long Branch hospital and comply with several operational conditions, which were previously reviewed and recommended by the state health planning board. According to the state approval letter, outpatient surgery, specialty clinics, imaging, behavioral health and a full-service emergency department must remain in Long Branch. Services cannot be “materially less than” what is currently provided before relocation.
MMC must also provide free transfers for patients who arrive in Long Branch and need admission or specialty care in Tinton Falls. The hospital must work with NJ Transit and transportation agencies to increase service between sites.
Additionally, the hospital must establish a community advisory group within 120 days of relocation, which cannot be dissolved for at least 10 years.
Acute-care inpatient services; labor, delivery and maternity; medical-surgical beds; operating suites; 24/7 inpatient care; expanded diagnostics and specialty care; and a new emergency department attached to an inpatient hospital will relocate to the new Vogel Medical Center in Tinton Falls.
After state approval, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6) brokered an agreement with RWJBarnabas Health, Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey legislative leaders on a bill to preserve acute-care inpatient hospital services in Long Branch. It was approved Jan. 12 by the New Jersey Legislature and is on the governor’s desk pending final approval.
The legislation establishes a pilot program appropriating $3 million to the Department of Health towards facilitating RWJBH to operate acute-care hospital services at both MMC and the proposed facility in Tinton Falls for at least 10 years after relocation, with the Commissioner of Health authorized to extend the pilot program.
In addition to a full-service emergency department, required by state approval, Pallone’s proposed pilot would require MMC to maintain 48 surgical and observation beds, with up to 12 convertible to intensive care use and operating rooms for major surgery.
Elected officials from the area, including state Sen. Vin Gopal (D-11) and Assemblymembers Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul (D-11), sponsored the legislation.
Long Branch Mayor John Pallone has also supported the legislation.
The relocation follows months of concern from residents and clinicians that moving inpatient care could increase travel time in emergencies, widen health disparities and strain neighboring hospitals.
Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), operator of nearby Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, responded in a statement Jan. 8 that the state’s decision “does not alleviate concerns about the region’s hospital capacity.”
“Moving a full-service hospital further away from where people live and work will only exacerbate these barriers to care,” the statement said. HMH pledged to “pursue all available avenues” to ensure access in Monmouth County.
In his approval letter, Sahu said the health care facilities neither submitted data that would demonstrate a “measurable diversion or concentration of patients, nor does the record support a finding of adverse operational impact.”
“Accordingly, the Department finds that the proposed relocation will not adversely affect Jersey Shore University Medical Center or Riverview Medical Center and will not disrupt the existing balance or availability of hospital services within the county or planning region.”
MMC’s Carney said both sites will see continued investment during the transition. “We look forward to keeping our patients and communities informed at every stage of the project,” he said.
RWJBarnabas must satisfy state conditions before shifting inpatient services and intends to break ground after design completion and township approval.
Construction and renovations at both sites are planned for 2026 through 2028, and licensing is expected in 2029, with the Long Branch site continuing to operate full medical services until Vogel Medical Center opens.
The article originally appeared in the January 15 – 21, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
