Lawmaker: Top drawer medical care available in NJ

If you’re sick or in need of urgent medical care, look in your own backyard. That’s the message from some New Jersey lawmakers who have been visiting healthcare facilities across the state in recent weeks.

State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) said there’s a general sense that New York or Philadelphia is superior to New Jersey in terms of care, but that’s “absolutely not the case.”

“We have a lot of doctors from New York and Philadelphia coming into New Jersey to practice now because New Jersey has top-notch facilities,” said Sweeney, highlighting the hard-working staff and pleasant environment at Hackensack University Medical Center, University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper in Camden.

“Look here first,” Sweeney added.

The New Jersey Hospital Association praised the senate president’s efforts.

“We have 72 acute care hospitals that provide great care,” said NJHA spokesperson Kerry McKean Kelly. “You don’t have to get on a train, go through a tunnel or traverse a bridge to get that care.”

McKean Kelly said New Jersey happens to be sandwiched between two major metropolitan areas, but Garden State facilities continue to rank among the best in the nation.