Plainfielders' suspicions that the state has a double standard with regard to hospital closings was confirmed by way of a story in Friday's Bergen Record about the proposed reopening of Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood (see here).
Buried deep in the story about resistance to Hackensack UMC's efforts at reopening the bankrupt hospital is this bit --
...[t]he licenses for Muhlenberg, Barnert and other city hospitals expired — yet Pascack Valley's license was permitted to remain open for up to two years (emphasis added).
It was precisely this condition that Commissioner Heather Howard said could not be granted in Muhlenberg's case.
(You will recall that Assemblyman Green apparently never did any homework on the question of keeping the license active, only getting in the game after Dr. Harold Yood pointed out -- see here -- that South Amboy Hospital's license had been kept active for several years after it closed. Green's tardiness on the matter gave Howard the upper hand.)
Howard's keeping the Pascack Valley license active has smoothed the way for Hackensack UMC's proposal to reopen the closed hospital under its ownership.
To which Asm. Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood) objects, along with two area hospitals, the Bergen County NAACP and a host of others. Johnson even complained to Gov. Corzine in a private meeting (something Assemblyman Green never did).
Perhaps the biggest way the Corzine administration has dropped the ball during his term has been the failure to come up with a coherent -- and fair -- statewide hospitals and healthcare plan.
The failure to do so, with the mealy-mouthed and waffling 'rationalization' report, betrayed the political difficulties of the issue. Things have only gotten worse as the perception continues to grow that the default policy is to favor locating hospitals away from urban areas and toward the suburbs, leaving a third-world/first-world dichotomy.
This being an election year, with Gov. Corzine facing an uphill battle, everyone seems exquisitely attuned to the political difficulties of the situation. Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State opines --
" Governor Corzine needs to consider advantages of gaining votes in constituencies in Bergen County who are advocating for the hospital – and that's really important because Bergen is a bellwether in state politics – versus alienating African-American legislators who are a core constituency in his party, " Harrison said. " Perhaps the best solution is to do nothing. "
Hackensack UMC certainly knows how the game is played -- they have requested a six-month extension in resolving their request to reopen Pascack. Let's see...that would take us past the November election. Gee whiz! Fancy that!
Meanwhile, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs has yet to publicly identify any members of the citizens advisory board that she promised Commissioner Howard last September (see here) would be coming 'by the end of the month'. That was last September; nothing has happened since.
Howard's representative stated at the June 2009 State Health Planning Board meeting (see here) that if Robinson-Briggs didn't appoint the body by 'next month's meeting' -- meaning July 2009, Commissioner Howard would act to see that one was put in place.
So here we are, with no news Mayor Sharon has done the deed.
Double standards on the part of the state.
No standards on the part of the Mayor.
And the governor laying low?
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4 comments:
Dan,
Let us not forget the role Assemblyman Green played in the closing of Muhlenberg Hospital. When the power brokers decided to close the hospital, it was a done deal. Assemblyman Green new about the closing-long before it was announced-and when told about the decesion he acted like any beholding politican, he went along! This is not just my opinion, it is the word from those in the know - doctors and politicans on the in. The tragedy is that Jerry Green, in the twilight of his life/career, will only be remembered for an unpardonable failure - the demise of this once great community. This is truly tragic for he has had numerous opportunities to ensure prosperity for the next generation. He has let not only himself but the citizens of Plainfield down - big time.
Not quite on the subject but.....I had to use the ER recently and the AC was broken and the staff said it had been for a while, seemed as if no one was rushing in to fix it. Then someone told me that during the winter the pipes froze b/c they weren't drained properly and when they defrosted there were major leaks into the ER area. Is anyone inspecting the vacant building??? I can only surmise that Solaris would like nothing more than to have mold grow in the building so that they could demolish it and sell the property. I hate Solaris. I have switched my Drs. to a group that works out of Somerset Med as I can't stand the thought of having to "support" JFK with my BC/BS payments!
Another reason why I am having difficulty voting for Corzine - what a punk. I also blame Assemblyman Green adn SHARON. I am absolutely voting for the other guy.
Jerry Green and Linda Stender and Nicholas Scutari (remember him??) are responsible for the closing of Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center, along with Gov. Corzine. They did nothing. It is clear that Green knew what was happening well in advance, which is why he started talking about Plan B. Remember that developer he brought in last year for the medical mall idea? Whatever happened to that guy? Green has destroyed a lot of what was viable about Plainfield. The loss of over 1,100 jobs is on his watch, along with the mayor, who NEVER EVEN BOTHERED TO ATTEND A MEETING, ALTHOUGH SHE IS ON MUHLENBERG BOARD. Shameful, despicable, possibly criminal? I think Governor Christie, yes, I said it, Governor Christie, will have a lot to do over the next 4 years. I am a lifelong Democrat, but this crew of incompetents is an embarrassment to Pres. Obama.
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