Unionized employees at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic have tentatively agreed to a new contract that extends pay cuts and other concessions until the hospital begins to recover financially.

More than 500 nurses, technicians and other workers ratified a three-year contract, which goes into effect when the current contract expires on Feb. 28. The new pact continues court-assigned concessions until St. Mary’s reorganization plan is approved, at which time the nurses expect the hospital to begin restoring their pay in increments.

The employees have worked with a 5 percent pay cut — later reduced to a 4 percent cut by the hospital — and other concessions since March, when St. Mary’s declared bankruptcy, citing debts of $100 million.

Attorneys for the non-profit, 292-bed acute-care hospital filed a reorganization plan this month with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark and have until Jan. 6 for creditors to accept the plan.

The unions and St. Mary’s, who have been negotiating for months with an independent mediator, were pleased with the settlement.

“We had a mutually agreed upon mediator, who made compromise recommendations that turned out to be fairly reasonable,” said Virginia Tracy, executive director of JNESO, the union that represents 357 nurses and 131 technicians at St. Mary’s.

“It’s not ideal, but it gives them a chance to get back on their feet and us to get back what we lost,” Tracy said.

Another union, Operating Engineers Local 68, represents 20 licensed boiler room workers and other employees.

“Having the support of [the] unions, whose contracts were fully ratified this month, is an important step forward for the hospital,” Vanessa Warner, a spokeswoman for St. Mary’s, said in a statement Friday.

As part of the agreement, St. Mary’s will restore 2 percent of the workers’ wages when the court approves the reorganization plan; then 1 percent more in March, and another 1 percent in June, Tracy said. The hospital would also resume the employees’ annual “step” raise, an average 40 cents per hour increase, she said.

The hospital will not reinstate a paid half-hour lunch for employees, she said. But it will pay time-and-a-half to a 12-hour shift worker who is not relieved by another worker in order to eat, she said.

“The difference between now and when the hospital filed for bankruptcy is that we’re hopeful for the first time in a long time that progress can be made,” Tracy said.

The union was concerned that the hospital would reject its contract altogether if it didn’t agree to temporarily continue the concessions, Tracy said. “If they’re going to make it, they need cash and a few months to get a leg up to be successful,” she said.

“The employees are definitely going to cast their lot with management. The new administration has made some positive changes that we can see,” Tracy said. A new president and new chief financial officer took over St. Mary’s last summer.

A recent report by the court-appointed patient care ombudsman agreed.

“There are no issues at this time with regard to maintaining quality of care provided by St. Mary’s Hospital,” the ombudsman, Daniel T. McMurray, said in court documents.

A hearing on the sale of St. Mary’s former hospital site at 211 Pennington Ave. will be held on Dec. 8.

On Dec. 9, St. Mary’s will hold a public meeting to discuss hospital finances, future plans, services and community benefit programs. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the hospital, located at 350 Boulevard.

A hearing on the hospital’s Chapter 11 disclosure statement will be held Dec. 18.

The 114-year old St. Mary’s is the sole survivor of Passaic’s three hospitals.

E-mail: groves@northjersey.com

Don’t miss it! A huge crowd is expected so please come early!! On Sunday, November 22, 2009, at 7:30 PM, Rinat Yisrael presents:
Honorable Cory A. Booker, Mayor, City of Newark, New Jersey
Addressing: “The Future of Black-Jewish Relations”

Moderated by Gary Rosenblatt, Editor and Publisher of the New York Jewish Week.

Mayor Cory A. Booker is an electrifying speaker with a deep and longstanding connection to the Jewish people.
While at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, Mayor Booker served as the
President of the L’Chaim Society, the local chapter of Chabad, and brought together a diverse community there. He became Mayor of New Jersey’s largest city in 2006. Elected with a clear mandate for change, his administration has been working to realize a positive vision for the city – that of setting a national standard for urban transformation by marshaling resources to achieve security, economic abundance and an environment that is nurturing and empowering for individuals and families. Mayor Booker has been cited by
publications like Time, Esquire and the NY Times as a national leader with innovative ideas and bold actions.
Mayor Booker received his B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University, as well as a B.A. in Modern History at Oxford and a law degree from Yale.

The public is invited.

For more info contact djacobow@gmail.com

CLIFTON — A car drove off the road and into an Athenia Avenue home early this morning, seriously injuring the driver and startling the home owner awake, authorities said.

The Buick sedan was driving from Clifton Avenue along a curved section of Van Houten Avenue when it skidded off the road just after 5:30 a.m. The car struck a street sign and drove into a porch and dining room of the house, which is several feet from the street.

The male driver, who was not identified, had serious but not life-threatening injuries and was taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, said Clifton Fire Department Deputy Chief George Spies. The woman and a dog in the home at the time escaped uninjured.

“It was loud,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified. “The house shook. (The driver) just said, ‘Help me.’”

The home could be unlivable for more than a week because the car took out an entire wall of the dining room.

(News Source: NorthJersey.com)

Passaic N.J. Major gas main was just busted by a construction company at the corner of Main Avenue and Highland Avenue. The gas leak is reported in the new school. Multiple agencies are responding at this time. Passaic Fire is requesting P.S.E & G on a rush. Main Avenue is being blocked off by the Passaic Police at this time expect major delays in the area. Homes are being evacuated in the area.

Update– 2:45 Passaic Fire evacuating all Highland Avenue residents in the area. Clifton Police requested to block off Main Avenue in Clifton.

Update–2:49 Passaic Fire loads the fire hoses as a precautionary measure. Additional Fire trucks arrive on scene to help with evacuations. Construction company is shutting down all of their generators in the area.

Update–2:50 P.S.E & G representative on location at this time, P.S.E & G rep awaiting the gas shut off team.

Update–2:55 Passaic Police reaching out to the Passaic County Sheriff Department for more officers to block off streets in the area.

Update–2:57 P.S.E & G Gas shut off team on location and attempting to shut off the gas main on Main Avenue and Highland.

Update–3:09 As per Passaic Police and Passaic Fire all units will be leaving the scene within 15 minutes. P.S.E & G shut off the gas at this time.

P.B.J.N Staff on behalf of the residents of the City Of Passaic would like to thank the Passaic Police department and the Passaic Fire department for keeping us safe and protected.

P.B.J.N Exclusive Report

The Corzine administration and Democrat leadership that claim to care for New Jersey health care system has failed New Jersey hospitals.

A total of 15 acute-care hospitals have closed around the state since 1997, including 11 in the northeastern counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic, according to the New Jersey Hospital Association.  Among the most recent are Barnert Hospital in Paterson, Pascack Valley in Westwood and Union Hospital. We have witnessed dramatic fall of Passaic hospitals with the last of the three in bankruptcy proceedings this year.

All of this happened under years of Democrat rule in New Jersey.

The Kaiser Family Foundation, a national foundation committed to sound health policy, ranks New Jersey 50th — second lowest in the nation — in terms of healthcare expenditures to hospitals. And Public Citizen, a national consumer watchdog group, ranked New Jersey’s Medicaid program 39th out of the 50 states, largely due to its poor reimbursement to providers. New Jersey, in fact, ranked dead last in reimbursement, according to the Public Citizen analysis. Other groups have witnessed New Jersey’s difficulties and responded. Standard & Poor’s, a major Wall Street ratings group, has downgraded the credit rating of many New Jersey hospitals and predicts that the state will experience additional hospital closures due to its harsh marketplace.

Major problem causing hospital closing is not enough funding for charity care. Presently, all hospitals receive at least 50 cents back for every $1 of charity care they provide. Those “safety net” hospitals that serve most of New Jersey’s uninsured population must receive at least 96 cents to ensure their ability to continue serving patients. We estimate that at least 50 percent of the charity care is used by illegal aliens using the emergency rooms in our hospitals.

As a result the unfunded mandates on hospitals effectively ask them to provide uninsured individuals with the catastrophic health insurance they are free not to procure, at the expense of insured patients and, in the case of investor-owned hospitals, of shareholders as well.

In 1995, New Jersey had 112 acute care hospitals. As of 2008, there were 75 hospitals remaining with half of them losing money.

Most recently, Senator Weinberg, Assembly members Johnson and Huttle oppose reopening of the Pascack Valley Hospital denying access to health care for residents of the Northeastern Bergen County. Governor Corzine has been silent on this topic.

Closed Hospitals

1992 …………………………Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Saddle Brook

1995 …………………………………………….Zurbrugg Hospital, Riverside

1997 ………………………………………………….United Hospital, Newark

1998 ……………………………………Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital

1999 …………………………………………Montclair Community Hospital

1999 ……………………………………….South Amboy Memorial Hospital

2000 ……………………………………………………Point Pleasant Hospital

2001…………………………………………..West Jersey Hospital, Camden

2002 …………………………………………St. Francis Hospital, Jersey City

2002 ……………………………………….South Jersey Healthcare, Millville

2003 ……………………………………….General Hospital Center, Passaic

2003 …………………………………………West Hudson Hospital, Kearny

2004………………………………………………..Hospital Center at Orange

2006 ………………………………………………..Irvington General Hospital

2007 …………………………………………….PBI Regional Medical Center

2007…………………………….HEALTHSOUTH Specialty Hospital, Union

2007………………………………………………………………..Union Hospital

2007 ……………………………………Pascack Valley Hospital, Westwood

2007 ……………………………………………………….Care One at Pascack

2008 ………………………………………………..Barnert Hospital, Paterson

2008 …………………………………………..Saint James Hospital, Newark

2008 ……………………………………..LibertyHealth, Greenville Hospital

Closure Applications Pending

2008 …………………………………………….Columbus Hospital, Newark

2008 ………………….Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center, Plainfield

Bankruptcy Filings

2007 ………………………………………………..Barnert Hospital, Paterson

2007 …………………………………………………………..Bayonne Hospital

2007 ……………………………………Pascack Valley Hospital, Westwood

2007 ………………………………….PBI Regional Medical Center, Passaic

2007…………………………………………William B. Kessler, Hammonton

VOTE FOR WOJCIECH SIEMASZKIEWICZ FOR ASSEMBLY IN DISTRICT 37 ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3^rd, 2009

Wojciech Siemaszkiewicz

Republican candidate for Assembly in District 37

District 37 includes: Bergenfield, Bogota, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Hackensack, Leonia, Maywood, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park, Rochelle Park, Teaneck and Tenafly.

As posted at: http://www.takebackbergen.com/

The Cash for Clunkers program generated nearly 26,000 new car sales in New Jersey, giving auto dealers a much-needed boost and reaping $50 million in sales tax and motor vehicle fees for the state, according to industry data released today.

New Jersey ranked ninth out of 50 states participating in the two-month government program, with car buyer rebates totaling $103.4 million, according to the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, which published the figures. Overall, dealers across the country sold more than 690,000 vehicles and claimed $2.88 billion in rebates during the program.

The program provided a lift for many of New Jersey’s 550 auto dealers, who have been struggling amid a severe downturn in the industry. New car sales had plunged 30 percent in the first half of the year, compared with the same period last year, the coalition said. Cash for Clunkers appeared to bring some relief in July and August, reflected by a less drastic sales decrease of 7.5 percent.

However, experts said the benefits from the program are just a Band-aid for the state’s auto industry, which has lost 20 percent of its dealerships over the last three years.

“It was much needed, much welcome, but not nearly enough to get the industry back to where it needs to be,” said Jim Appleton, president of the coalition.

Nevertheless, sales under the program exceeded expectations, he said. New Jersey usually ranks 15th the nation for monthly car sales, but aggressive marketing, combined with pent-up consumer demand, helped propel the state into the top 10 for Clunker sales, he said.

The most popular brand choices among local consumers were Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, General Motors and Ford, Appleton said. Luxury brands were little affected.

The federal program, which gave new car buyers $3,500 to $4,500 for trading in older gas guzzlers for newer, more fuel-efficient models, has not been without hiccups. After being introduced in early July, it became so wildly popular that the funds ran out in less than two months.

Some local dealers said they ran into headaches recouping the money from the government, with a few payments trickling in as late as a few weeks ago. Adam Kraushaar, president of Lester Glenn Auto Group, said he sold more than 500 cars through the program at his five dealerships, totaling about $2 million in rebates. Some of that money did not arrive until late September, he said, which created “some angst, sleepless nights and cash flow issues.”

But many car dealers said they are just hoping for a sequel to the Clunker program.

At Towne Hyundai in Denville, general manager Rene Cruz recalled how car buyers came rushing to his showroom. In all, he sold 230 cars under the program and claimed $800,000 in government rebates. It was a welcome boost, especially after a slow winter during which he sold on average 20 to 30 cars a month.

“It was total mayhem,” he said. “There was a line into the actual lot of the dealership.”

Now, he said, business has once again dropped off. “It was just a blessing. Now, it’s back to bad,” he said.

Laura Botsacos, vice president of James Toyota in Flemington, said her dealership sold 212 cars under the program, or about $896,000 in rebates. But what she enjoyed most, she said, was the brief escape from the gloom surrounding the industry.

“There were nights we were here well past midnight, there was a great energy in the store,” she said.

By Leslie Kwoh/The Star-Ledger

More than $2 million for emergency centers in North Jersey and billions for grant programs that have helped the region in the past were in a nearly $43 billion homeland security spending bill the Senate sent to President Obama on Tuesday.

Obama’s expected to sign it, even though Congress ignored his recommendation to eliminate some programs too steeped in politics. Here’s a look at the bill:

WHO’S GETTING MONEY: $60 million is provided for grants around the country to local emergency centers where public safety and civilian leaders coordinate responses to emergencies such as storms or man-made disasters. More than $5.3 million is earmarked for specific areas in New Jersey, including:

* $300,000 toward a $1.3 million emergency center Hackensack wants to build on its former pistol range in Johnson Park. City Manager Steve Lo Iacono said the city is raising money from other sources as well, but needs approvals from the state because some of the land has been preserved through the Green Acres program.

* $250,000 for Passaic County to renovate its emergency center, increase security and upgrade technology.

* $1 million for the Morris County emergency center.

* $500,000 for the North Hudson Fire and Rescue emergency center.

REJECTING OBAMA: Obama recommended in May that emergency center grants be eliminated because 60 percent of the $35 million appropriated this year was earmarked by Congress to specific places, rather than awarded where the risk was greatest. Rather that cut, Congress increased the program to $60 million, and earmarked 80 percent.

BUSES AND TRUCKS: Obama proposed eliminating security programs providing $12 million to bus companies and $8 million to trucking companies, saying federal grants were funding capital investments that private companies could make themselves. Congress did kill the truck program, but continued the bus program. New Jersey bus lines got $3.3 million in the last grant award.

SAFETY RESEARCH: The Transportation Security Administration gets $5 million to expand its explosives-detection research lab in Atlantic County. A California non-profit gets $1 million for training programs in five states, including New Jersey, on how to get different public safety communication systems to talk with each other.

REGIONAL GRANTS: Urban Area Security Grants were increased by $50 million, or 6 percent for next year. North Jersey got more than $35 million this year, which may increase. But port security grants were reduced by $100 million, or 25 percent. Obama had recommended a 37 percent cut.
(News Source: NorthJersey.com/Herb Jackson/PCJN)

Authorities have arrested 13 people, including a West Orange doctor, in connection with an alleged narcotics network that illegally distributed prescription painkillers, officials said today.

Officials said a yearlong investigation revealed the defendants were obtaining fraudulent prescriptions and filling them at pharmacies in Hudson County, billing Medicaid and private insurers for the drugs, which included OxyContin and Percocet.

“These defendants ripped off Medicaid and sold dangerous narcotics on the street, peddling black market pain pills such as OxyContin,” Attorney General Anne Milgram said in a statement. “With these arrests, we have shut down their two-pronged criminal enterprise.”

During the operation, authorities seized more than $1 million in various bank accounts, $35,000 cash, fraudulent prescriptions and more than 1,000 pills.

Officials accused three men — Robert Silverman, 43, of Jersey City; Louis Lisi, 34, of Union City; and Brian Kelly, 48, of Hoboken — of leading the operation. All three were charged with drug distribution.

According to officials, Medicaid beneficiaries were paid by the leaders to receive fake prescriptions from two doctors: Clifton Howell, 53, of West Orange, and Magdy Elamir, 56, of North Saddle Brook. Both doctors were arrested and charged with drug distribution, health care claims fraud and Medicaid fraud.

The drugs then were obtained from Tucker Drugs in Hoboken and Five Corners Pharmacy in Jersey City. The pharmacists at both stores Babak Bamdad, 41, and Amir Tadros, 32, were arrested.

Another six people were accused distributing the drugs: Joseph Burkhardt, 50, of Jersey City; Michele J. Oliver, 41, of Wallington; John Bussanich, 23, of Cliffside Park; Danny Reed, 25, of Toms River; Marty Taraboccia, 25 of Fairview; and Jack Kennedy, 28, of Keyport.

Officials said the dealers sold 30 milligram OxyContin pills for $10 to $20. Ten milligram Percocet pills fetched $5 to $8.

They said more arrests are expected.

Legal representation for the defendants either could not be reached or determined today.
(News Source: NorthJersey.com/PCJN)

Teaneck N.J- Jonathan Milgram, assistant professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary, says he has learned a great deal from watching the way his own children are learning at Ben Porat Yosef in Paramus.

“My teaching style has been very much affected by observing how wonderfully kids learn,” said the Teaneck resident, explaining the emphasis in the lower grades on varied and individualized instruction.

Not everyone absorbs information in the same way, he observed. “Watching how successfully [children] learn, I asked myself [as a college professor] how I would teach kids who study that way when they reached college age.”
image
Jonathan Milgram

His conclusion — to focus similarly on individualized instruction — has been greeted warmly by his JTS students. Milgram was elected professor of the year by the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies of JTS for the 2008–2009 academic year.

The professor said he has tried to foster the intellectual growth of individual students even though his classes are fairly large. He also tries to make himself available to his students.

“I care deeply about the material and make sure they understand why Talmud is an essential discipline to study even in the 21st century,” he said, adding that such study is “also relevant to intellectual and spiritual growth.”

Milgram, who has done research in Talmud redaction and medieval Jewish law and is writing a book about rabbinic inheritance law, came to JTS in 2004 after serving as professor at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and London School for Jewish Studies. A former coordinator of JTS’s Saul Lieberman Institute for Talmudic Research — an institute dedicated to the computerization of medieval Talmud manuscripts — he has also taught at Hunter College, the Drisha Institute, and Yeshivat Chovevei Torah.

With a bachelor’s degree from both Columbia University and JTS, a master’s degree and rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University, and a doctorate from Bar-Ilan University in Israel, Milgram feels he has “crafted a style of teaching that responds to different needs.”

“I want to keep it fun, interesting, and immediate,” he said, “making clear the relevance and practicality of talmudic wisdom.”

The professor said he varies what he does so that people with different strengths will be equally served.

For example, he said, “I may give a 15-minute lecture, take 10 minutes to look at the text together [with the students] and check how they’re doing, and then do some kind of exercise to flesh out the text.”

In addition, he might offer a video presentation of some kind, said Milgram, who recently invited students to his home for a sukkah party, “integrating the practice of Jewish life with its teachings.”

Exams are also varied, he said, noting that he mixes oral tests, written quizzes, and take-home papers.

“Everyone has different strengths,” he said. “By varying instruction and assessment, I ensure that everyone can learn. I see it as my job as an educator to package the knowledge I wish to teach in ways that are accessible to the audiences receiving it.”

Milgram said he has learned a good deal from his own teachers, whom he called the greatest scholars of their generation, citing in particular Shamma Friedman (JTS and Bar-Ilan University), Menahem Kahana (Hebrew University), and Hayyim Soloveitchik (Yeshiva University).

“Each of my mentors brought something unique to his teaching style and at times I see elements of their teaching echoed in my own,” he said. He adapts his philosophy of individualized instruction to lifelong learners as well, he added, and has served as an adult education teacher and scholar-in-residence all over the country.
(News Source: JStandard.com/PCJN)

PASSAIC — Mayor Alex D. Blanco fired Jane Grubin, director of human services, late last week, in the biggest personnel move since he named a new business administration in June. And there may be more changes soon.

Sources with firsthand knowledge said Monday that the next employee on the chopping block is Planning Director Glenn Carter, who declined comment.

Grubin, who was appointed by former Mayor Sammy Rivera in 2001, was let go Friday. Business Administrator Anthony Iacono said Monday that there could be more restructuring. “Like all administrations, there are changes and that is our prerogative,” he said. “This is one of a few moves and other personnel moves are coming.” He declined to elaborate.

Attempts to reach Blanco were unsuccessful.

Iacono said that Grubin’s dismissal was not a political decision, even though Grubin’s husband, Simon Grubin, supported Blanco’s opponent, Vincent Capuana, in May’s mayoral election. Jane Grubin said she was proud of her work and both she and Iacono said her termination was unrelated to her performance.

“I serve at the pleasure of the mayor or at the whim of this mayor,” Grubin said. “It is their prerogative, that’s all. It wasn’t because I did a poor job. It had nothing to do with my job performance. I just hope they have someone from Passaic to fill that position and someone who cares about the people of Passaic.”

Grubin, who grew up in one of the city’s most prominent families, the Gurtmans, said her eight years in the job offered her a chance to give back to the community.

Her grandfather, Max Gurtman, owned a sheet company in Passaic, Max Gurtman and Son. He and the rest of the family contributed to local families and charities. Her father, Nathan, an architect, designed some of the city’s buildings, including the former Ginsburg’s Department Store on Madison and Lexington avenues, and the Ahavas Israel synagogue on Van Houten Avenue.

“Anything I can do is very important, because I have been blessed and this was the perfect way to give back to the community,” Grubin said. “These things are important. It wasn’t a job. I loved going to work every day.”

The Human Services Department is the fourth largest department in the city and oversees a wide range of programs that help city residents, from free HIV testing and food programs for children to running a health clinic.

Grubin, who made $77,000 this year, said one initiative of which she’s particularly proud was rehabilitating the city’s animal shelter, which was slated for closure by the state in 2003.

“I was able to get money to redo the shelter to become a state model for animal shelters,” she said.

Grubin thanked her staff, which numbers 55, for their work. She specifically cited those health professionals who developed a pandemic flu plan, after which the state modeled its program.

Grubin said she will remain active in the community, remaining as board chairwoman of the Mental Health Clinic of Passaicand continuing her work on the Jewish Family Service Board.

P.C.J.N would like to thank Jane Grubin for all she has done for our City and especially the Jewish community. We wish her all the best.

(News Source: NorthJersey.com/PCJN)