By SUZANNE TRAVERS, SPECIAL TO THE RECORD PATERSON The emergency room at Barnert Hospital will close next week, a spokesman for the bankrupt facility said Friday. The decision to close the emergency room as of 5 p.m. Tuesday leaves those in need of nearby urgent care with one option St.

By LAWRENCE AARON THE PATERSON COMMUNITY needed a lot more time to prepare for the final days of Barnert Hospital. If the only answer to Barnert's massive debt was shutting it down, the staff and the community would have been better served with more than one day's notice.

By BOB GROVES Hospitals in New Jersey will lose nearly $3 billion in federal funding over the next five years if President Bush's proposed budget cuts are approved, officials said Monday.

By ALEXANDER MacINNES, SPECIAL TO THE RECORD PATERSON The $250 million expansion project planned for St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center may not fill the void in patient care caused by the closing Friday of Barnert Hospital. Under its expansion plans, the number of hospital beds St.

By SUZANNE TRAVERS, SPECIAL TO THE RECORD PATERSON Barnert Hospital moved with stunning speed to shut its doors Friday, a day after its efforts to survive bankruptcy failed.