One of the residency programs at Bayonne Medical Center has lost its accreditation and will likely shut down June 30, following the financial troubles that led the hospital owner, CarePoint Health, to file for bankruptcy.
The hospital on Friday notified its 36 residents in Internal Medicine residency that the program failed a review by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the governing body that evaluates residencies in hospitals in the United States.
The loss of accreditation comes at a time when Bayonne Medical Center is about to change ownership. In December, the State Health Planning Board approved Hudson Regional Hospital’s application to buy Bayonne Medical Center for $13 million, pending final approval by the NJ Department of Health, which is expected.
At least for now, the 36 residents are expected to remain at the hospital and will continue to see patients. Twelve are scheduled to graduate in June, but 24 others in their first and second years are scrambling to find programs elsewhere.
“We’re like orphans,” said one resident, who asked that his name not be used, fearing reprisal. “Our education has been compromised, and now we have to search for new programs because of their malpractice.”
Bayonne Medical Center is transitioning to new ownership, with Hudson Regional Hospital currently awaiting final state approval to take over from CarePoint, which also owns Christ Hospital in Jersey City and Hoboken University Medical Center.
HRH spokesman Ron Simoncini said the new owner hopes to revive the program quickly and keep the current residents onboard.
“In anticipation of a resolution to CarePoint’s bankruptcy that by all indications will result in HRH being named permanent successor to CarePoint, we are filing a new application to ACGME and it is our hope and expectation that it will be approved and we will likely be keeping many current Residents in our new program,” Simoncini said.
CarePoint Health-Bayonne Medical Center on Nov. 13, 2024. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal) Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal
In its report, ACGME cited numerous deficiencies in the program, including a shortage of computers, a lack of clinical opportunities and followup visits with patients. Faculty in the Medicaid-funded program hadn’t been paid and weren’t spending enough time training physicians, the report said.
“Residents attributed their dissatisfied responses to the 2024 survey to pervasive low morale, frustration and fear for the program’s stability” due to BMC’s financial problems, the ACGME report said.
Among the other findings in the report, which was obtained by Nj Advance Media:
- The program director and faculty complained they had not been paid for “several” months prior to the site visit. Some residents said the hospital’s financial situation had “negatively impacted several faculty members willingness to teach and/or the quality of teaching.” Some faculty left the program because they weren’t getting paid.
- At times, the hospital failed to provide drinking water, clean sheets or blankets in the call room where residents took breaks in between and during their 12-hour shifts.
- There was a shortage of computers, so residents had to use their own laptops.
- Training in outpatient care was “deficient.” There was a lack of continuity of care, and residents say they rarely saw a patient more than once.
- The residents were assigned to an outpatient clinic one half-day per week (generally two hours)...Residents characterized this clinic as a waste of time with a supervisor who is not competent to address all issues that arise and is not an effective teacher.”
- Annual evaluations were incomplete, and did not include statements that the resident was ready to move to the next year of the program.
- Graduate evaluations did not include statements that the resident was qualified to begin private practice.
ACGME conducted the review in mid-November, just days after CarePoint filed for bankruptcy. ACGME surveyed the residents, and they complained bitterly that the hospital failed to deliver adequate training, which compromised patient care.
Bayonne Medical Center, a 261-bed facility, treats 100,000 patients a year. Roughly 65 percent of its patients are uninsured or underinsured, the report says.
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