The city of Trenton and its 90,000 residents will soon be down to just one hospital and its one emergency room.
St. Francis Medical Center is closing. Many residents will soon have to travel across town to get the care they need.
“It’s sad – for the residents, for the patients, for the people who actually work there,” says Trenton resident Shaffona Morgan.
“It's for all the community, so it's going to be hard for all the people,” says Trenton resident Jay Herrera.
St. Francis Medical Center has been open for 150 years. Once it closes, Capital Health Regional Medical Center will be the only hospital to remain in the city.
“I guess I have to find somewhere else to work,” says Morgan.
Morgan shuttles patients back and forth in her van. Capital Health is buying St. Francis but will close the hospital. The new owners say they want to hire as many people as possible, but Morgan says she doesn't know if her job will be saved.
“Some people worked here for 40 years, 30 years – and it has kept them thriving. So it’s just sad to see,” she says.
Trenton had three hospitals at one point. Capital Health-Mercer shut down main operations in 2011 and closed its emergency room in 2013.
“I’m not happy with it,” says Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora.
Gusciora says it's not the business the hospital is doing but the condition of the old building, which would have to be completely renovated. In the meantime, hospitals in the suburbs are attracting more patients.
“I call it St. Elsewhere because the people are going elsewhere,” the mayor says.
A closing date has not yet been announced. Gusciora says the emergency room at St. Francis will remain open at least until the hospital closes, which could be in just a year or two.