Just a year ago, three Hudson County hospitals were on the verge of collapse, buried under millions in debt without a lifeline to save them.

Well, today marked a dramatic turnaround with the ribbon cutting of a rebranded system that's now the fourth largest health network in New Jersey.

So how did it get there?

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagas reports.

Today we're here to celebrate the unveiling and the rebirth of the old Bayonne Hospital as the new HRH Bayonne University Hospital.

Healthcare and elected leaders from across Hudson County gathered in Bayonne today to mark a new day for healthcare that some worried would never happen.

under one healthcare syst on the brink of bankruptcy been reincorporated under system called Hudson Regi were this close from all t closing this close and it wolf.

It was a reality bec enough money in the system that made up the system un health care point where C City Bayonne Medical Cent Medical Center.

Jan Moshe of H. R. H. Took over Med and C. Caucus in 2018, tu regional hospital, the fo system.

But each of the h faced a similar challenge care patients they serve.

Unfortunately, a much higher percentage of indigent patients, of patients unable to pay in our hospitals in our urban county than others.

Not only did the prior operators of this system file for bankruptcy, but more than one of the hospitals in this system were on the verge of closure.

hospitals in this system h for the change was Jan Mo system to revitalize it f president and ceo of H. R especially, you know, ser to patients and communities like Bayonne here that are essential, such as the cardiac cath lab, you know, neurointervention, stroke care, and many other areas that were lacking supplies and therefore they were shut down.

And so we started by reopening a lot of those services, making sure there's enough supplies for all the different services, stabilizing the working force.

And then we started investing in creating new service lines.

These hospitals are known for the amount of charity care that they have to take on.

Do you see that return on investment, especially if there are cuts to Medicaid that could end up increasing the amount of charity care patients you take on?

We all understand what area we serve, right?

This is Hudson County and unfortunately there is a large population of charity care patients.

But it's not just charity care patients.

There are a lot of undocumented patients.

Our goal is to really invest in areas that are going to make up for the loss on the charity care and undocumented patient side because as acute care hospitals we have to keep our doors open.

Again we're choosing to invest in other areas that will make up for the loss on this side so we can continue to serve the community.

On top of the tens of millions he's already invested, Jan Moshe plans to invest an additional 75 million dollars into major renovations here at Bayonne, in Secaucus and Hoboken University hospitals.

They expect those projects to be completed within the next year and a half.

Our goal is to make sure that it's a very efficient delivery healthcare system that delivers good quality care efficiently to the county, to its residents and a lot of patients come here from New York as well.

Will it be something that needs continuous personal funding to keep it going?

No, our goal is to make sure that it's self-sustainable within a year and a half.

But as someone who sits on the hospital board, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop offered a word of caution about the system's future.

The finances are not great.

Today's a celebration as we're taking a step in the right direction.

The reality of the situation is absent of help from the state and help from the county and help, continued help from the municipalities.

In five years time, the same hospital systems in Hudson County will not exist.

It's a stark reminder that serving the health care needs of the community remains a challenging and costly endeavor.

In Bayonne, I'm Joanna Gagas and J Spotlight News.

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