The problems with our national health care system are becoming more apparent as the number of uninsured citizens hits 47 million. Cuts in Medicaid, a shortage of staffing in health care facilities, and consolidation have created a health care crisis in the United States which is painfully apparent now more than ever in our own backyards.

According to a recent Star Ledger article, at least 21 New Jersey hospitals have been closed or consolidated over the past 15 years.  This year we’ve already said goodbye to Union Hospital, in Union Township and Greenville Hospital in Jersey City.  Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood is expected to close in November.

Last Year, we saw Irvington General close, and in 2004, the closure of Orange Memorial Hospital and the consolidation of two South Jersey Healthcare locations into one. 

Healthcare in the state of New Jersey, or lack there of, is deteriorating medical accessibility, eliminating thousands of jobs, destroying educational opportunities, and ultimately jacking up the cost of living. As hospitals continue to close, hundreds of beds and thousands of jobs disappear. Patients find that healthcare accessibility becomes an inconvenience when more common health problems occur. However, the state of healthcare accessibility in the State is dangerously deficient when one considers the very real possibilities of a natural disaster or epidemic.

When hospitals close, quality care begins to decline at remaining facilities, as patients have nowhere else to turn and overcrowding occurs. This, combined with limited staffing, puts hospitals at a greater risk for medical errors occurring as well.

The lack of funding makes it difficult for hospitals to hire more staff members and this is starting to show-up in the numbers. According to the New Jersey Hospital Association, New Jersey has lost 6,500 jobs in the past 10 years.

At this rate both the quality of life in New Jersey as well as the State’s economy will suffer.

Just as a patient must reach out to a doctor, we must reach out for a solution to the State’s healthcare problems. We can not allow New Jersey’s citizens to live without accessibility to quality health care.

As your Assemblyman, I continue to work diligently on creating, sponsoring and supporting legislation geared towards obtaining the funding that will help protect and preserve not only what is left of New Jersey’s healthcare facilities but also what is just beginning to evolve through the positive fundamentals of healthcare and benefits.