This past week on the Editorial page of the Courier News, we’ve heard from some people in Edison who feel very strongly about the closure of Muhlenberg Hospital. But it’s clear from reading their opinions that these people don’t have all of the necessary information. For people to blame the current administration for the closure of Muhlenberg Hospital, I feel, is unfair and doesn’t consider all of the facts.
Unfortunately, it’s become clear that I should bring up some history on the subject to help get the facts out there.
First of all, I want it known that the Mayor and the City Council here in Plainfield have been working with me very closely over the past year on this issue. When Solaris first informed the city and state of the possible closure, it was Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs and I who worked to get $4.5 million to keep it open for the last six months.
Years ago, I was told by some members of the Catholic community to watch out, because all urban hospitals were in danger of closing due to financial losses from charity care. What I was told at that time has held true: there have been ten major hospitals closures in our area in just the past year. At around the time that I started hearing these things, I sat down with Solaris and the former administration to talk about a plan to keep Muhlenberg Hospital open. The former administration stated at that time that they didn’t want to get involved.
When Solaris finally announced the closing publically, it came as no surprise to anyone who was aware of the decision made by the former administration and the Muhlenberg Advisory board.
We, meaning the current Mayor, her administration, City Council, some community members and myself, have fought very hard to save Muhlenberg. That’s why we fought to keep its license active for three years while we might look for a buyer. Unfortunately, today I received a letter from the Commissioner of Health explaining why the license can’t remain active, a letter which I intend to share with you in detail over the next few days. We’ve also asked the state to allow the city to have our own advisory board with the power to make decisions about the future of the Muhlenberg campus and to make certain that Solaris makes good on its promises to be responsible for the continued access to quality healthcare services for our citizens and the citizens of surrounding communities. The Mayor, City Council and I are going to meet with the State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Heather Howard, in the near future to discuss why she has not given the city what we want in terms of our own advisory board.
For all of this work, I feel that the City Council, the Mayor and her administration have done a fantastic job. I have promised not to be negative in my blog and to make this a positive blog that offers my solutions for discussion, rather than just hash out old problems and divisions, but I do want to say that I find it embarrassing when I read emails going out to the entire community which are very negative toward this administration and this City Council when they all have been working hard with other area hospitals to ensure healthcare services are still available for this community and those surrounding it.
Not only this, but they have worked to ensure that Solaris will continue to provide access to healthcare services for our citizens—right now, Solaris will have to pay for the availability of these services as required by the task force—but also they have worked to require Solaris to maintain the Muhlenberg Campus responsibly as we look for a new buyer, and the Mayor, the council and I have worked with the State to make certain that Solaris seeks out and accepts any fair offer. As it now stands, Solaris will have to work with the State to find a buyer for the campus responsibly, or else risk losing their license for JFK Medical Center.
In the meantime, as I discussed in my last posting, watching what has happened with the Muhlenberg closing motivated me to sponsor bill A2607, which will force hospitals to be more open with the communities that they serve by requiring yearly public meetings. From here on out, Solaris will have to communicate to Plainfield through these yearly meetings how it continues to meet the city’s needs, as required by the State.
In the spirit of keeping this blog positive, I won’t give my personal reasons as to why I feel Solaris will not go the extra mile to help find a buyer to continue services at Muhlenberg.
The most important fact to keep in mind when you have all of these groups asking why we can’t keep Muhlenberg open, or why can’t the city buy the hospital, is that any group who might buy the hospital would have to show how they would cover all expenses. Whatever group purchases the hospital would be responsible for providing the services I’ve described here- at a cost to that group. We are not prepared to let Solaris off the hook at the expense of the Plainfield taxpayer. This is why I feel that Plainfield is in much better shape than Irvington, who, because they did not take these kinds of steps, they are left with an empty hospital and the financial burden of providing their citizens with what we are requiring Solaris to provide for us.
I find it odd that a citizen of Edison would tell Plainfield’s taxpayers to support spending $10 million for a consultant, and another $20 million to condemn the Muhlenberg campus, and to assume responsibilities for the future of the campus (currently the responsibility of Solaris.) The State of New Jersey is being asked to back over $100 million in bonds for Solaris to close Muhlenberg, something that I think that these editorial writers out of Edison would not ask their own community members to back if they were in the same situation.
I hope that Solaris will not wait until this becomes a burden and that they will deal in a fair manner to help us find a buyer who won’t be a competitor to Solaris but who can provide what we need, including acute care and any other services to generate profit to offset some of the losses that have occurred at Muhlenberg over the years, rather than pass those burdens on to the taxpayer.
So, this issue is far from over, and as the Mayor and I work with Solaris to get what the city needs, I will continue to bring you any new information on an ongoing basis.
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