Hospital Tid Bits

Tid bits: While Plainfield's near state of the art hospital remains empty except for a few outpatient services and profit making diagnostic services that are competitive with independent local medical practices, other hospitals are making progressive moves.

Raritan Bay has four prospective buyers for its 140 bed Old Bridge facility. Of course this hospital is not in a low income urban area.

Does Plainfield have any? Actually it is Solaris who supposedly owns the Muhlenberg "campus" who has the right of disposal of the property. Plainfield meaning the local government can only act as a facilitator. State support for a hospital with a large "charity care base" is essential but to date not forthcoming. Obama says that health care for everyone is a RIGHT, but the state Democrat party obviously thinks otherwise.

A new facility is being built in Plainsboro, an affluent population area. It is true it will replace an older facility inside Princeton, but it also represents when completed a new "HEALTH CARE COMMUNITY" (my term) consistent with the area it will serve.

I do like the fact that every room will be "private. As a former social conservative sometime Republican, I have advocated for years that the semi-private configuration be abandoned. Long ago I suggested that the radical solution to Muhlenberg's problems, which regrettably in a large part were due to personal prejudices, would be such a room conversion. The reply, "economically unfeasible". Bankruptcy is preferable then admitting that preconceived ideas could be erroneous.