(02/16/06) HOBOKEN ? Hospital employees and Hoboken residents attended a mass Thursday dedicated to Saint Mary Hospital, which is scheduled to close in June.

The mass was an attempt by city officials and employees to keep the hospital open. Many residents say if the facility closes, it will be difficult for them to receive proper medical treatment. Longtime employees say they want hospital owners to realize how important Saint Mary is to the community.

However, the owners of the facility say the hospital is too much of a burden on their bottom line. Representatives of Bon Secours Medical Group, which owns Saint Mary, claims the hospital lost $27 million in the last fiscal year. A plan is currently in the works to have UMDNJ take over St. Mary. That proposal will be presented to Governor Jon Corzine (D-NJ) next week.