I wanted to take this opportunity to support the ongoing efforts that Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs is taking to try to save Muhlenberg Hospital, and to inform my readers about what possibilities still exist in terms of the future of medical care being offered at the Muhlenberg Campus.
Currently, the mayor is in talks with a serious potential investor who might be interested in keeping Muhlenberg open as an acute care hospital. I myself am aware of two other potential buyers, and we’ll be meeting with one of them later this week. All of these three have the necessary financial backing and management experience to run Muhlenberg. Two of these three have made it clear that they want the hospital’s license to remain active for 60 days to have time to complete their proposals. In the hopes of making this happen, the mayor and I plan to meet with Commissioner Howard as soon as possible to discuss the need for the license to remain active to attract these potential buyers, and to give them time to do their homework and really prepare their proposals. Considering, as I told you in my posting on August 6th, the license for the Memorial Medical Center in South Amboy, which closed in 1999, was kept active for approximately two years, we think that it isn’t too much to be asking for just a few months. Our hope is that the commissioner can put everything on hold for at least 60 days to give these groups a little more time to examine the situation and prepare bids.
Solaris did not make finding potential buyers a top priority, so now we must. It’s clear that keeping the license active won’t affect Solaris’ plans for closure: they’ve already essentially downsized services at Muhlenberg and have begun moving out equipment. We’re only asking for this extension in the status of the license to give potential buyers the time that they need.
These are the types of things that we plan to communicate to the Commissioner shortly. We’ll keep you posted on any decisions or progress made.
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