The Long Branch City Council on Oct. 22 adopted a resolution opposing RWJBarnabas Health's plan to relocate the hospital license for Monmouth Medical Center from Long Branch to a new facility in Tinton Falls.

Mayor John Pallone said if the New Jersey Department of Health approves the license transfer, Monmouth Medical Center would cease to be a full-service hospital and could be reduced to a satellite clinic. He listed services that would be removed if the move is approved, including labor and delivery, pediatrics, cardiac surgery and life-saving cardiac care, major surgery, intensive and critical care, and rapid access to stroke treatment.

The resolution mirrors concerns expressed by Hackensack Meridian Health, which the mayor quoted as saying, "replacing a full-service acute care hospital with a satellite clinic is a drastic reduction of care." Pallone urged residents to attend the Department of Health public hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 29, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Ocean Place Resort and Hotel, 1 Ocean Boulevard, Long Branch. He said free parking will be available at the hotel and at the municipal parking lot at Broadway and Ocean Boulevard.

Council members did not debate the resolution at length in the portion of the transcript that recorded the mayor's remarks; the meeting record shows the council "adopted a resolution" that opposes the plan but does not show a roll-call vote or the mover and seconder for the resolution in the public portion of the transcript.

The mayor asked residents to make their voices heard at the state hearing; he said the city's position is aimed at preserving local access to acute care services that the city says serve the community's immediate needs.

The transcript does not record any formal response from RWJBarnabas Health or from the Department of Health at the meeting. The mayor provided the public-hearing date and logistics but did not state whether the council will pursue additional steps beyond the resolution.