Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield will close its doors within six months, leaving about 1,000 employees in job jeopardy.

Hospital officials say the medical center is closing for two reasons - increased competition from specialty hospitals and low reimbursement rates for aiding patients without insurance.

The next nearest hospitals are about five miles away in Edison, or further in New Brunswick. Patients like Valerie Cummings, whose congestive heart failure was treated at Muhlenberg, says those added minutes could be a matter of life and death.

"If you don't get to the hospital in a hurry, it could be over," says Cummings.

About a third of the hospital's employees may be able to fill similar positions at one of the other nearby hospitals.