CUNNINGHAM STATEMENT ON GREENVILLE HOSPITAL CLOSURE

TRENTON – State Senator Sandra Bolden Cunningham, D-Hudson, issued the following statement after receiving a letter from Department of Health and Senior Services Commissioner Heather Howard indicating that she would allow Liberty Health Systems to close Greenville Hospital in Jersey City due to financial hardship:

“I’m disappointed by the announcement today that Greenville Hospital has been given approval by the Commissioner of Health to close. It’s unfortunate that the people in the Greenville section of Jersey City will lose access to such a vital health care center which has served as a part of the community for more than 100 years.

“Over the course of the public hearings conducted by the Department of Health, advocates for the community and local leaders testified on the impact that closing Greenville Hospital will have on the health care needs of the neighborhood. While the Department followed their pre-established process, the people in the Greenville community are now without a hospital, and access to timely, quality health care that having a local hospital brings with it.

“I will continue to work with the Liberty Health Systems board members and local health care professionals to guarantee quality health care to all Jersey City residents in this transition. And I pledge to work with the New Jersey Hospital Association and my colleagues in the State Senate to make sure that all New Jersey hospitals have the resources they need to adequately meet the health care needs of the Garden State.”