St. Joseph's Village/Bergen County Healthcare Center

St Joseph's Home for Dependent Children was a large orphanage that once stood on Piermont Road in Rockleigh. The complex of small, one story brick buildings was built in 1958 on 48 acres of was then undeveloped land.

Source: TFPNJ Postcard Archive

Almost the entire campus was built at the same time. It was known as St. Joseph's Village. The village was founded by the Newark Sisters of St. Joseph as a replacement for their orphanage in Englewood Cliffs which was destroyed by a fire on April 1st, 1953.

Source: Palisades Interstate Park Facebook page

The new facility had a large central chapel, a gymnasium/auditorium, eight dormitories, a food services building, and a few other ancillary structures. The entire campus was connected by long corridors like many other facilities of its time. 

The last major improvement was a modern structure all the way at the west end of the campus. This was the only building that didn't get a corridor connecting it to the rest of the complex.

St Joseph's Village operated until June of 1973, when the sisters decided it was too expensive to maintain and operate the campus. The property was snapped up by Bergen County who reopened the facility as a nursing home. 

The nursing home had a rather mundane history, providing decent care for the 110 people who lived there at peak times. Still, the center endured high costs which weren't fully reimbursed by the residents. In addition, cuts to Medicaid at the time were poised to cost the center another $300,000 anually. An article in 2012 claimed the county was considering selling the facility, which could have caused severe turmoil among the residents. Thankfully they didn't go through with it. 

The facility was still open in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic rattled the nation. As a precaution, the administration stopped admitting new residents and and initiated strict pandemic policies. Despite their efforts there was at least one outbreak. Five patients ended up dying, and over 100 other staff and patients contracted the virus acording to a September 2022 Report. Many other nursing facilities that had outbreaks fared far worse, but the losses were still significant. 

A press release from the county went out on July 16th, 2021 stating that they intended to close the center. They cited financial problems among other factors, and pointed to multiple other nursing home closures throughout the state to back that up. The families were able to relocate their loved ones, and the county was able to find jobs for the whole staff at Bergen Regional Hospital and the on site nursing unit. 

Demolition began quietly in 2023. When I first rolled up to document the complex they were already in the process of abatment. After getting inside I discovered that the western dorms had actually been reused as a school near the end of the centers life. The school ended up painting a bunch of neat murals throughout the corridors.

I could tell by the aerial view of the complex that I was getting near the gym building. I was happy to find a large stage when I walked into the room, as well as a rock climbing wall of all things. Unfortunately some of the local kids had beaten me inside, where they managed to make a huge mess. They even set a fire in the center of the room. 

They had built a wall inside the main corridor to seperate the school from the nursing home. As a result I actually had to leave the building and find a window to climb through. As I dusted myself off I was thrown off gaurd by the lights still being on. It made the rest of my visit to the complex a little more exciting. There was a single security gaurd driving around, but they never seemed to notice I was there. 

By early 2024 the entire facility was gone. I'm not sure what the county is planning to do with the land. Considering the size and existing infrastructure I wouldn't be surprised to see it become a housing development.

 I don't get up to the area often, so I'll probably have to wait until Google maps updates to find out for sure. Another New Jersey Healthcare facility gone without a trace.