Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, a nurse for 35 years, says it's unconscionable that Trenton legislators demand doctors and nurses at the state’s only public hospital to work in environments that cause harm to the community and staff who already serve under stressful conditions. He was a Yankees fan. We were chatting about their chances of making it to the World Series as I checked his vitals and IV drip. All good.
We are all one car crash away from needing this level-one trauma center. The current administration knows the diagnosis but refuses to administer the cure; the hospital needs radical intervention but is being told to take an aspirin and walk it off. Things will get better, or at least not worse. That is what we tell ourselves. But waiting worsens outcomes.
The promise is crumbling. The hospital’s emergency room and trauma ER were built to treat 50,000 patients annually. Today, more than 100,000 persons seek treatment there. Most shockingly, the HVAC system does not work when the outside temperature is below 17 degrees or above 88 degrees. Our medical staff, trained professionals that they are, run around the hospital, mercifully delivering blankets to patients when the heat stops working. Our first-year residents must play meteorologist and concierge while making less than housekeepers in Atlantic City.