NJ S4940

Hospitals approved to relocate from an underserved community must maintain at their original location the minimum professional departments, inpatient beds, services, facilities, and functions required of a general acute care hospital under state regulations

"Underserved community" is defined as a municipality with over 30,000 residents that is designated as a Medically Underserved Area, has an Index of Medical Underservice Score of 62.0 or less, and is identified as medically underserved by the Commissioner of Health

Services maintained at the original location must operate under the same license as the relocated hospital

The law applies retroactively to any hospital relocations approved by the Department of Health in the 12 months prior to the effective date

The Commissioner of Health is directed to adopt rules and regulations to implement the requirements