Hundreds of people attended a meeting on Thursday night to express their opinions about a plan to move some services from Monmouth Medical Center to a new hospital that would be built in Tinton Falls.

Many who attended the meeting are fighting to keep the 130-year-old medical center as a full-service hospital, saying that it has been part of their lives for generations.

RWJ Barnabas Health got the green light in October to begin moving the Monmouth Medical Center hospital license in Long Branch to the new Vogel Medical Center in Tinton Falls.

While some were opposed to the move, others said they were in favor of relocating labor and delivery, intensive care, and inpatient acute care.

Despite the decision, hospital leaders say Monmouth Medical isn't closing. The Long Branch hospital will feature an inpatient behavioral health center, an outpatient surgery center, an outpatient imaging service and a full-service emergency room.

It's up to the Department of Health whether the proposed relocation will happen. If approved, hospital officials say that between design phases and construction, the hospital would look to open in 2032.