Muhlenberg Commentary Part 2

After reading the few negative comments about what I have done to try and help our city deal with the Muhlenberg Campus I am responding with what I have done, not just in the last 5 years but the 4 years prior to the Muhlenberg Campus closing.

4 years before Muhlenberg closed I was able to secure millions of dollars in grant money from the state to keep the facility open. That grant money was unfortunately cut from the budget, without that grant money Muhlenberg may have closed 9 years ago.

Also when we were in the process of building the nursing school a private donor gave 8 million dollars; I was able to raise an additional 4 million so that the nursing school could be built with no financial problems.

So I like to feel that for the last 10 years I have played a major part in getting the nursing school built and keeping the hospital open. From the 5 years before it closed and to this day I haven’t stopped trying to bring the best medical services to the campus.

I have worked with Community Healthcare Associates LLC a real estate development firm that that works specifically on healthcare facilities to reintroduce healthcare facilities that offer a wide range of medical services. They previously worked on Kessler Medical Arts Complex and Barnert Medical Arts Complex; they have a history with facilities similar to Muhlenberg. They have worked closely with me on my bill A3043 that I previously mentioned the Governor vetoed and continue to help me push for a way the state can help us.

I live in this city and like every other citizen you never know when you may need to go to the hospital so instead of having a 5 minute trip to the hospital we now have almost a 30 minute drive. And that long of a trip can be the difference between life and death.

So I am just as concerned and will continue to fight so that the campus can give the best medical services for Plainfield and the surrounding area.

Unfortunately there are a handful of people who will never acknowledge the time and effort I have put into working on the Muhlenberg issue I promise I will continue to put in that same time and effort to make sure that the property will be used to help the city. This has been a decade long battle and I am not going to stop now. I will continue to reach out to people to make sure the site benefits all of us here in Plainfield.