Photo by Reena Rose Sibayan / The Jersey Journal.
Trigger warning: Accusations of sexual assault are described in this article.
A court hearing that is set to take place this week in Hudson County brings about allegations against a person who is a hospital president and chief executive officer. The allegations come from two women; one of whom claims to have been sexually harassed and the other who was allegedly assaulted by the doctor himself.
Dr. Nizar Kifaieh, who is the active President and CEO of Hudson Regional Hospital (HRH), is the defendant in the case and has been affiliated with the facility since 2018, according to the HRH site.
The allegations aimed at the doctor and HRH come amidst the hospital expanding their networks to acquire Christ Hospital, Hoboken University Hospital and Bayonne Medical Center (BMC) from CarePoint Health, a medical corporation which filed for bankruptcy last year after drowning in more than a $108 million debt.
A preliminary hearing is set to take place on Monday, March 3 at 9 a.m. where a judge will be appointed to legally spar with the president and CEO of a hospital.
What Happened?
Last year, HRH received approval of $13 million in allocated funds from the state Department of Health (DOH) to take steps in securing the financial acquisition of Bayonne Medical Center (BMC), as previously reported by the Jersey Journal.
The 19-page recommendation by the DOH was discussed in the state Health Planning Board meeting on Dec. 12, 2024, with 26 conditions in mind, including the formation of a new “governing” board within a span of 60 days, requiring at least three community members, according to DOH.
But amidst HRH’s efforts to expand, some concerns began to spread.
The lawsuit against Kifaieh points to an alleged timeline where the doctor coerced Serafima Isachenko, 33, a former ultrasound technician at the hospital and one of the listed plaintiffs in the suit, into a forced sexual relationship.
“Defendant Kifaieh was very persistent and repeatedly insisted that Plaintiff come to his office to engage in sex while she was at work,” according to the lawsuit.
A source, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation brought by HRH, claimed several hospital staff workers expressed dire concern about HRH’s expansion, under the purview of Kifaieh.
The elements of the case indicate a hostile work environment brought on by the doctor, “that altered the terms and conditions of her employment,” ultimately leading to Isachenko being terminated from the position in which she served for more than a year at the hospital. Isachenko’s employment contract was terminated under Kifaieh.
Slice of Culture made several attempts to reach out to the plaintiffs in the case, but none have been responsive.
The Alleged Work Environment At HRH Under Dr. Kifaieh
On a call with Thomas McKinney, the attorney representing the women plaintiffs involved in the alleged sexual assault case with Kifaieh, said the defense is ongoing and could not provide further comment at this time.
“The allegations of this disgruntled former employee are false. She was terminated for violating numerous written policies of the hospital,” Steven Adler, the attorney defending the CEO and President of Hudson Regional Hospital, wrote in an email statement provided to Slice of Culture.
Isachenko had never received any written warnings or discipline during her employment at HRH before her termination, according to the suit filed by the Morristown law firm Castronovo and McKinney.
The 27-page civil action lawsuit, directed to the Superior Court of Hudson County, notes the date of April 14, 2021, where a second plaintiff by the name of Nicole Kengetter, a medical practice insurance broker, met with the doctor under the pretense of a business-related meeting at an HRH networking event. She alleged in the lawsuit that “she lost consciousness at some point that night” while being with the doctor.
HRH confirmed to Slice of Culture that Kengetter is not and never was an employee at the hospital.
The next day, she texted Paula Lapas, a Marketing Director for the hospital, to apologize that she did not recall what happened that night with the doctor. According to the lawsuit, Lapas responded by “saying that Defendant Kifaieh wanted to meet with her to discuss new business.”
Slice of Culture reached out to Paula Lapas for comment but, at the time of this writing, there has been no response to the request.
At the time Kengetter had previously worked for NJ Pure, a nonprofit focused on medical malpractice insurance, and thought that having the CEO of a hospital as a referral would be a good fit to the prospect of hospital business-related matters.
In a sworn court deposition, Kengetter claimed Kifaieh told her “You need to kiss me before you leave,” at a Sushi Lounge in Totowa, New Jersey. Kifaieh was reportedly ordering bottle service and inviting women to his table, according to the suit, indicating May 4, 2021 as the date the interaction took place.
That same year, Kengetter and the doctor met again in September at Sear House, a restaurant steakhouse in Colster, New Jersey, where the two had a couple of drinks, as expressed in the suit. The suit alleges that after the doctor ordered her a drink, she began to feel “woozy, hazy.” According to the sworn certification, the doctor followed her to the restroom in an attempt to kiss her, and she said she was “repulsed.”
In the suit, it’s stated that Kengetter was walking to the bathroom when she felt everything “was really off” and “got dark.” She then states she does not remember anything else from that evening and “woke up in a shed in the back of the restaurant.”
Two days later, Kengetter called Kifaieh inquiring what had happened at the restaurant, in which, according to the suit, Kifaieh stated they had “messed around” in her vehicle and had “fingered her.”
Slice of Culture reached out to the Hudson Regional Hospital about an ethics complaint filed by Isachenko during her employment at HRH. In an email written out to Slice of Culture on the request, on behalf of either plaintiff, the hospital responded by stating that “no record of any such document or filing in our institution” had been made.
Slice of Culture also reached out to HRH in requesting for “specific policies violated per hospital standards” by Isachenko during her employment at HRH, instead the hospital responded with HRH’s “General Compliance Policy,” citing along additional hospital related policies, without listing the specific connection to Isachenko, as requested.
“Hudson Regional Hospital’s mission is to build a healthier community by providing exceptional care for all Hudson County residents through investment in cutting-edge technology, attracting top-tier providers, rebuilding high-quality clinical services, and implementing a customer service model that addresses the health needs of all patients and caregivers,” the website states.
Slice of Culture reviewed a series of internal violations at the hospital, putting at risk the lives of staff members at the facility, based on a survey dating back to Aug. 23, 2022.
According to the document under Health Facility Penalty Letters, which is a document issued by a health regulatory agency, in this case, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH), when violations come up in an inspection report, the survey indicated “that there were two events that the hospital failed to report. The facility failed to report a bomb threat.”
In a letter issued by the state DOH to the hospital, the survey determined that security staff “failed to inquire about and identify unidentified items brought into the facility by a former employee,” stated the letter. The total imposed fee on the hospital as a result of the state DOH violations is $63,000.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop Linked To HRH Funding
The hospital has been linked to financial investments tied to mayor Steven Fulop’s super PAC, Coalition for Progress, which has racked up over $400,000 in campaign funds by Kifaieh and HRH’s chairman Yan Moshe, according to FEC filings reviewed by Slice of Culture. HRH hosted a fundraiser last year on October 28, in which tickets to attend ranged from $25,000 to $50,000.
Slice of Culture made attempts to reach out to Fulop’s campaign handpicked treasurer, Drew Nussbaum, on a comment on the donations aspect of the mayor’s super PAC with the hospital–none has been provided at the time of this writing.
The chairman has dealt with his own fair share of allegations, with violations connected to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. He has been sued at least nine times in federal court, in which cases relate to ownership of healthcare-based entities in New York and New Jersey, such as alleged kickbacks, fraudulent billing and illegal fee-splitting in reporting brought by Jersey City Times.
Slice of Culture made efforts to reach out to board members of HRH to request a comment on Kifaieh’s allegations, but none were provided and instead were funneled through to one hospital spokesperson.
Hospital facilities such as CarePoint and Christ Hospital have contributed over $1.6 million in donations to the mayor’s super PAC.
In an interview with the 12-year running mayor, who is running as a candidate for state governor, in this year’s NJ gubernatorial elections, said “I have fiduciary responsibilities to the board” and did not provide any additional comments related to the nature of Kifaieh nor his pending court case.
After a judge is appointed on Monday for Kifaieh’s pending case, typically the next step would be a pre-trial phase where they review the case documents and ensure it’s being conducted according to the law.
