Muhlenberg Advertising

After months of non-stop coverage of the Muhlenberg closure, it seems as though attention is fading from the hospital. The tremendous amount of effort that a number of individuals and organizations, such as POP, poured into saving Muhlenberg was certainly worth the coverage. Plainfielders put up a fight that will serve as a model for other municipalities facing similar situations.

And the fight continues, as it should, although the latest news hasn’t helped to reignite attention: the City’s appeal to reverse the decision to grant Solaris a certificate of need has been denied by Commissioner Howard. I hope that action will continue to be taken by the City to restore Muhlenberg to a full-service acute care hospital.

In the mean time, however, more should be done to make Plainfield and the surrounding area aware of what is still available at Muhlenberg - specifically the Satellite Emergency Department (SED). The SED is open 24/7 and provides most basic emergency care. The SED was one of the conditions that Solaris President and CEO John McGee agreed to meet in order to receive the Certificate of Need from Commissioner Howard. It must remain open for a minimum of 5 years. I imagine that at that time an evaluation of the SED will take place to determine whether or not it should remain open and functional.

My concern is that too many people don’t realize that the doors at Muhlenberg are still open, so to speak. If the public is not aware that the SED is open, then no one will use those services and the 5 year evaluation will reflect low usage. The rationale of “high cost, low benefit” has already been used once against our hospital. It would be a shame to let that happen again.

I’ve seen more advertising for JFK and Overlook and Trinitas in the past 6 months than ever before. Advertising for Muhlenberg must be done to keep what we do still have available.

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