When Dr. Dominic Ruocco began working at Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, the area surrounding the hospital along the Hudson River was scattered with empty factories, dilapidated piers and vacant lots from a bygone industrial era.
That was in 2003. Today the neighborhood is almost unrecognizable, with dozens of new apartment towers rising above the Hudson River waterfront in Bergen and Hudson counties, to take advantage of skyline views and a short commute to Manhattan.
As the population boomed, so did the number of patients who sought treatment at Palisades’ emergency department…