At the crux of the dispute is a law critics say was fast-tracked through the state legislature to benefit the Camden trauma center.
TRENTON -- Cooper University Hospital scored a significant victory Thursday after the state's appellate division released a decision that overturns a lower court's ruling on the the trauma center's takeover of paramedic services in Camden City.
Thursday's decision comes nearly eight months after a judge in Mercer County Superior Court ruled that a bill giving Level 1 trauma centers the exclusive right to handle advanced life support services in their home city and have the option of providing basic life support was "special legislation" and thus unconstitutional.
The law came under fire last summer after it was fast-tracked through the state legislature, a move that some criticized as a "power grab" by South Jersey powerbroker George Norcross, the chairman of Cooper's board of trustees. It does not name Cooper specifically in the legislation, but Cooper professional testified to their support of the bill in legislative committee hearings.
Virtua -- which operated paramedic services in the city for nearly 40 years before the law went into effect -- joined forces with Capital Health System to sue the state over the legislation, claiming it was designed to benefit specific parties.
Capital Health, which provides paramedic services to Hamilton Township, is impacted via a provision in the law that allows Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital the option to provide the services in the large township instead. RWJ currently operates basic life support, or EMT, service in Hamilton, but Capital Health provides paramedic service for all of Mercer County.
After the health systems filed suit last July, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Douglas Hurd ruled in December that the legislation was in fact unconstitutional, arguing there was no distinction that Level 1 trauma centers provided better pre-hospitalization care than Level 2 facilities.
The state appealed the ruling, however, maintaining the argument that Cooper could provide better service to the community if its emergency medical services were fully integrated, allowing EMS workers to connect patients with the higher-level resources and follow-up care available at the trauma center.
In the appellate decision, the court states that it was "inappropriate for the [trial] court to second-guess the Legislature's judgement" and that "it is conceivable that ALS and BLS can be provided more efficiently if provided by a Level 1 trauma center, and having a Level 1 trauma center provide the services would facilitate high-quality prehospital care."
In the wake of Thursday's decision, Virtua released a written statement saying the health system administrators were disappointed Hurd's "thorough and well-reasoned decision" was overturned and that it is carefully reviewing the decision to determine its next move.
The health system also stuck by its claim the legislation circumvents the process already in place to designate ambulances and paramedic services. Such legislative power also "calls into question" the rest of the Department of Health's approval process, Virtua said.
Cooper University Hospital's vice president of communications said in a written statement that the health system is pleased it can continue to provide basic and advanced life support services to the city, which it began providing on Jan. 3.
"We, again, thank the Governor and the members of the New Jersey Legislature who voted in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion to grant Cooper University Health Care the honor and privilege to provide the highest level of emergency care to the people of Camden."
Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find NJ.com on Facebook.