Town-by-town impact of closing Muhlenberg.
The chart above and the following document was forwarded to me by a Muhlenberg supporter. The original document was prepared by a staff member of the United Way of Greater Union County. -- Dan Damon
Muhlenberg Hospital Closing: Geographic Impact
Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center is the primary hospital or nearest full-service medical facility for individuals in 13 municipalities of three New Jersey counties; Union, Middlesex and Somerset. Over 150,000 tri-county area residents live closer to Muhlenberg than any other hospital.
Other medical centers serving the area include Overlook Hospital in Summit, Robert Wood Johnson-Rahway Hospital in Rahway, JFKMedical Center in Edison, Robert Wood Johnson and St. Peters hospitals in New Brunswick, and Somerset Medical Center in Somerville. For those in Plainfield, North Plainfield, Dunellen and Fanwood, Muhlenberg is the hospital in closest proximity. A Muhlenberg closing would have the strongest impact on the aforementioned communities, particularly Plainfield’s West End (that would be about seven miles to the next nearest hospital).
More than three quarters of Scotch Plains residents are closest to Muhlenberg. For residents of South Plainfield, Green Brook and Watchung, about 60 percent of the population consider Muhlenberg to be closest. Nearly a third of Westfield and Warren residents are closer to Muhlenberg. Less than a quarter of Middlesex (boro) and Piscataway residents are in closer proximity to Muhlenberg. And, residents of the Northwest section of Edison are closer to Muhlenberg than JFK. (Refer to Table A for a list of impacted individuals and towns)
Conclusion
There are approximately 153,000 residents of the tri-county area who would be primarily impacted by the closure of Muhlenberg, the closest hospital to their residence. Countless others from central and northern New Jersey may also be impacted as Muhlenberg could be their first choice due to its specialty in particular areas or because their doctor, caretaker, family or other connections are in the Plainfield area.
When Muhlenberg closes, JFK would become the closest hospital for about 84,000 more residents. Robert Wood Johnson-Rahway Hospital would need to handle an additional population of 23,000. Overlook and Somerset would also need to provide for 15,000 additional residents and the two New Brunswick hospitals would serve an additional population of 10,000.
View today's CLIPS here. Not getting your own CLIPS email daily? Click here to subscribe.
No comments:
Post a Comment