RWJBH, Englewood Health sign definitive agreement to merge

In a move that would significantly increase the footprint of RWJBarnabas Health — and do so in a way that maintains if not elevates its high quality of care — the system announced Monday morning that it signed a definitive agreement that will make Englewood Health a part of RWJBH.

Under the terms of the agreement, RWJBarnabas will make significant capital investments in Englewood (approximately $500 million in the coming years) and will bolster and expand the network of outpatient services and community health programs currently provided by Englewood Health, resulting in greater access and an even higher level of care for the community, officials at both systems said.

The agreement still requires state and federal approval, a process that figures to go into the first quarter of 2027.

It should be noted: Unlike a similar agreement that Englewood signed with Hackensack Meridian Health in 2019 — only to see it blocked by regulators years later — there are no obvious red flags to this potential agreement.

Here’s why: While Englewood’s presence extends as far as Essex County, the majority of its services are in Bergen and Passaic counties, where RWJBH has little presence.

RWJBH CEO Mark Manigan and Englewood Health CEO Warren Geller both told BINJE they felt the agreement was a win-win, as the two organizations match clinically and culturally.

“We’re absolutely thrilled,” Manigan said. “The opportunity for us to be able to expand the network into an important region with a marquee player in that region is a really exciting proposition.”

If approved, the move will markedly increase the size of an RWJBH system that currently has 14 hospitals, more than 45,000 employees and 9,000 affiliated physicians providing care at more than 700 patient care locations.

Englewood, while a single hospital system, is larger than many realize, as it has a coordinated network of more than 800 office-based and hospital-based providers — and offers primary care, specialty care, and inpatient care at more than 100 locations in five counties across northern New Jersey.

Manigan said Englewood’s model is a perfect fit.

“When you look at their strategy, they’re like a smaller version of us in how they’re organized, with a high-end ambulatory operation that’s very well connected to the acute care piece of the business,” he said.

Geller took that as a high compliment.

“We’re The Little Engine That Could,” he said, noting that Englewood Health is coming off its best year ever.

The agreement, Geller said, starts with a shared culture.

“Mark Manigan and his team have the exact same philosophy as we do: It’s about the people in the communities we serve, in addition to our own people, who make it happen every day,” he said.

“They care so deeply about their communities, and they’re not afraid to go beyond the traditional borders of health care and just say, ‘This is what people need.’

“We share that philosophy. We feel it is our inherent responsibility to provide that.”

Manigan said the quality of Englewood Health can be seen in how RWJBH will make its capital investments: There is no pressing need on Day One, he said.

“It’s a hospital campus that any health system would be proud to identify with,” he said. “It’s a gorgeous campus that is incredibly well maintained.

“The commitment that we’ve made to them is $500 million over the coming years that will be dedicated to strategic investments, both on the inpatient side, whether you’re talking about expanding operating rooms, their neonatal intensive care unit, expanding private rooms on their campus and continuing to fund their terrific ambulatory expansion.

“And we’re definitely going to push hard on connecting them into our cancer program and the Rutgers Cancer Institute and the NCI designation, allowing Englewood to leverage all of that.”

Manigan was quick to point out how much the RWJBH system will benefit from the agreement, too, saying it’s a classic example of one plus one equaling three.

“When you look at the geography, you see it’s not an overlap but a contiguous connectivity that expands our network into important markets, Bergen and Passaic, where we don’t have significant presence,” he said.

“This enables us to continue to leverage our strategy of looking at: How do you care for a population? What does a region need in terms of neurosciences, cancer care, orthopedic care, women’s health and the like? How do we connect this region into the full menu of services we have to offer — whether it’s community health, outpatient care or inpatient care at the highest level.

“To be able to do more of that with a terrific partner with a track record of excellence in an important market is very exciting.”

Talks of an agreement began shortly after Englewood’s efforts to join with HMH were blocked in 2022. While they moved smoothly, both parties said they did not move hastily.

“There was no rush,” Geller said. “But as we spent the time and got to know each other, and our teams got to know each other, the more we talked about it and looked at each other’s organizations, the more the excitement started building again amongst everyone.”

Manigan said that’s how you know this deal was meant to be.

“I’ve been doing deals for a long time, and I can tell you, the best time for an organization to do a deal is when they don’t need to do a deal,” he said. “I’ll submit to you, neither Englewood nor RWJ Barnabas Health needs to do a deal, but we both want to do this deal.”