About Mountainside Hospital

Focused on medical excellence and community service for more than a century

Patient focused, community oriented, conveniently located and equipped with technology that rivals the nation’s most prestigious healthcare systems, Mountainside Hospital offers a comprehensive and growing array of services delivered by caring and highly skilled medical professionals. We’re proud of the therapeutic and administrative upgrades we have made. We’re the convenient, friendly community hospital that delivers the quality care, medical excellence and technology on which you can depend. Mountainside Hospital has been serving Montclair and its surrounding New Jersey communities since 1891. The physicians, nurses and volunteers who are a part of the Mountainside family are also your friends and neighbors. We're your community, your hospital and your team, working hard on your behalf.

Continuously moving forward

Never content with the status quo, we continue to add services, staff, programs and technology to benefit our patients and our communities. From our state-of-the-art emergency center with its Fast Track program to our holistic mind-body women's program to our comprehensive cancer center and a weight-loss surgery program recognized nationally as a Center of Excellence, Mountainside is the right choice in the greater Montclair area.

In 1891, the beginning of a great tradition

Margaret Jane Merewether Power was a preacher’s daughter who came from England to Montclair in 1874 with her husband. One summer day in 1890 she encountered a child who had fallen from a third-story window. Upset that there was no nearby healthcare facility where the child could be helped, she called on other women in her social circle to find a solution – marking the birth of Mountainside Hospital. By 1891, a three-story cottage belonging to widow Eliza Sheridan had been purchased. Dr. John J.H. Love was named the first President of the Medical and Surgical Staff, and Mountainside officially began its mission of “caring for, curing and nurturing the sick and injured.” Today, 119 years later, Mountainside Hospital is still carrying out that mission. With 365 beds and 820,000 square feet in total, Mountainside Hospital has come a long way. But some things never change. The compassion and commitment to the community felt by Mrs. Power continues to this day.

A member of the Merit Health Systems family

A company that is "committed to communities," Merit is a for-profit private hospital management company that acquires, owns and operates urban community hospitals. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Merit was founded specifically to address the significant and growing needs of community hospitals in larger urban markets. The mission of Merit is to meet the needs of all of the people living in the communities it serves and ensure access to quality health care. Its goal is to integrate the highest standards of ethics, quality and processes that result in state-of-the-art, excellence-driven hospitals tailored to the unique needs of each local community. Merit recognizes that health care is locally driven and its operating style reflects this.

Financial strength and independence

Three years after our acquisition by Merit Health Systems, we are proud to say we are one of the more financially solid and progressive hospitals in New Jersey despite a challenging operating environment and a severe recession. Thanks to the leadership and strong backing of Merit, we are building a stronger Mountainside Hospital by focusing on community involvement, physician relationships, the introduction of new services, strategic capital investments and operational efficiency.

The proof is in our actions and our medical excellence

Since our acquisition by Merit, the hospital’s medical staff has grown by more than 40% and now encompasses more than 600 doctors with diverse specialties. In addition to handling more than 130,000 patient visits last year and providing health screenings and awareness events that reached an additional 10,000 area residents, we are a significant contributor to the economic vitality of the community. We spend more than $18 million annually to supplement unreimbursed care for patients with financial hardships and support residency and nursing education programs. We employ more than 1,600 area residents, spending close to $100 million annually on payroll and benefits. Because we are for-profit and investor-owned, we also pay nearly $2 million in local and state taxes each year.