>WW I – The Great War – Presentation: Sponsored by American Legion Post 53
The American Legion post 53 will have a presentation at the Ridgewood library on Saturday, November 5th at 12 p.m. It is about “The Great War”.Ridgewood High School teacher John Domville will speak about WW1 and Joe Suplicki, Ridgewood historian will speak about life in Ridgewood during that time. Light refreshments.
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>Are single patient rooms the reason Valley’s Renewal is 1.2mm square feet?
In August 2011 Orange Regional Medical Center (ORMC), a brand new, state of the art, single-patient room hospital opened in rural Middletown NY,. There are differences between this hospital and the Renewal that Valley envisions, but a review of the facts may raise some questions. ORMC’s new facility is not embedded in a residential community and space and land are not its primary constraints. Its 61 acre campus, next to routes 17 and 84 has abundant highway access for patients and visitors alike. But despite having abundant land available, that hospital was able to achieve something Renewal doesn’t on its 15 acre site. ORMC was built at 621,000 square feet, over 500,000 square feet smaller than Renewal. ORMC is less than 100,000 square feet larger than current Valley and within the pre-existing Master Plan’s allowance of what’s reasonable for Ridgewood. Sounds like modernization within limits may be achievable after all.
ORMC is smaller at 374 bed and although it has been said repeatedly over the recent past that there is a surplus of hospital beds in Bergen County this doesn’t suggest Valley reduce bed count. Renewal has 21% more beds than ORMC at 454, but Renewal needs 88% more square feet to achieve the single patient room objective. Square footage per bed, which includes all the diagnostic, surgical and administrative functions of the hospital come in 55% higher for Renewal. Remember ORMC is not space constrained, Valley is, yet Renewal is super-sized. What is Renewal using all that extra space for?
Where is ORMC putting the gigantic new, state of the art equipment that Renewal claims as the other reason so much space is needed? If Valley built Renewal’s 454 beds at ORMC’s per bed square footage, it would be 754,000 square feet. That’s 400,000 square feet smaller than Renewal. Can someone explain why Valley needs 400,000 square feet more to achieve the same objectives when they are constrained by their surroundings? Is Valley being inefficient with space or are they doing more than ORMC? Some of the difference may be attributable to retrofitting in older buildings, but the Bergen and Phillips buildings are being removed as part of Renewal, therefore at least 700,000 square feet of new construction is included in Renewal’s 1.2mm total and the retained buildings are less than 20 years old.
ORMC was built for $264mm, while Renewal comes in fully-loaded at $750mm. On a per bed basis that is over $930,000 or 2.2x more per Renewal bed than per ORMC bed. Some of that is explained by Northern NJ vs more rural NY state, and some may be explained by the subterranean floors of Renewal, but does that explain it all?
Despite its location in a residential neighborhood, accessed by single-lane roads, Valley generates far more traffic than an “average” hospital today. From the traffic expert’s testimony Valley traffic, as it exists today, is 8% higher per square foot, 31% higher per bed and 53% higher per employee than an average hospital. Growth in hospital traffic since the last major expansion is 3.4x more than Valley projected at approval without adding an additional bed in that time. What is Valley doing that makes it so much busier today than it said it would be? Is that what makes Renewal so much larger than ORMC?
In conclusion, this document should be considered by everyone involved in this debate and decision. The hospital’s trustees, doctors, nurses, employees and supporters need to have Valley’s management explain to them and Ridgewood, whose quality of life will be compromised by Renewal, to explain the reasons for Renewal being so much larger. This explanation needs to be in clear language without PR “spin”. We need to know what ORMC is doing right or what Renewal is doing wrong that there is this large a disconnect. Our elected officials need to consider both what is said and what is not said by the hospital about its plans, its current operations and how it intends to generate the funds to repay the Renewal related debt. ORMC specifically states that there won’t be higher charges for single patient rooms, so that isn’t how Renewal is funded. You can see for yourself at ORMC’s website or the attachment that showcases the new building.
Link to Orange Regional’s website and description on the building process.: https://tinyurl.com/3jypmn2
Orange Regional Medical Center New Hospital
>Valley Renewal : Sue ,Sue Sue
The Planning Board, after their hearings and procedures, voted “yes” on an ordinance to change the Master Plan. This now goes up to the Village Council. They can either approve the ordinance, disapprove the ordinance, or remain undecided on the ordinance.
If the VC votes “yes”, the reality is that CRR will sue and continue their present suit against the Planning Board.If the VC votes “yes”, the don’t have to explain anything, they will be saying the Planning Board did their job.
If the VC votes “no”, The Valley will sue. Legally, the VC has to explain why, in writing, they are saying “no” to the result of the Planning Board process – and the Village Attorney has advised the VC that legally it can only be for planning, zoning related reasons. It is reviewing facts and process of Planning Board decision.
The VC isn’t obliged to vote “yes”, but they are obliged to follow the procedures and laws, and decide based on the planning and zoning issues.
If you want to do your own legal research, do it now, and get up at one of the public meetings at tell your findings.
>October Snow Days Force NJ Spring Breaks to Shorten
Some districts will have to shorten spring break after calling snow days in October
Some New Jersey school districts are still reeling from the Halloween-weekend snowstorm that cut off power to well over 2 million residents, and they now face an uncertain schedule heading into winter.
In West Orange, students will have to miss a third day of school Wednesday, already going over the maximum number of two allowable snow days. As a result, their weeklong spring vacation will be shortened by at least one day, said spokeswoman Jeannine Genauer.
And if more snowstorms force school districts to close once winter comes roaring through, more questions of how to squeeze in the state-required 180 days of instruction will arise.
>Sweeney: Merit pay for schools, not teachers
>Emergency Rooms: Not for Everybody?
Some NJ hospitals are marketing their emergency rooms to insured patients, while the state struggles to reduce ER visits by Medicaid recipients
Common wisdom in the healthcare industry: emergency room visits represent the biggest cost to hospitals. Then why is Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton mounting a marketing campaign to pull patients into its ER? Its recently announced 15/30 pledge promises a medical evaluation within 15 minutes of arrival and an exam within 30.
Robert Wood Johnson is hardly alone. Hospitals across the state are expanding their emergency departments and striving to cut waiting times to compete for patients.
Meanwhile, the state is struggling to reduce ER use by Medicaid recipients.
Suzanne Ianni , CEO of the Hospital Alliance of New Jersey, whose members include “safety net” hospitals in cities with large charity care and Medicaid caseloads, helps reconcile these two trends. She said hospitals are advertising their low ER waiting times in order to attract patients with commercial health insurance, which pays better rates to the hospital than Medicaid.
>Gov. Christie, family tough it out during night spent without power in Mendham
>BOE looked to squelch Halloween fun
As a parent with a child in school, I got the ‘nanny state’ call from Dr. Fishbein saying not to let my children out to trick-or-treat yesterday because of down power lines and branches. So, if there is a windstorm that takes down a line or branch and Dr. Fishbein fails to send out an email or warning call, is he and/or the school district liable should my child get injured on the way to school (or any other destination)? After 20 years in Ridgewood, I know when and when not to venture out following a storm. I wonder if the BOE is happy with his new job description?
>Email Message From Fishbein:
11/1/11 7:49PM
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM RIDGEWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
November 1, 2011
Good evening,
Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 2nd, only Willard School will be closed because electrical power has not been restored to that building. All other district schools will be open. All buses will operate on a normal schedule.
Please remember there are still downed power lines and a lot of debris in the area. Please be careful walking on sidewalks and driving to school. Many people are still without power, so please let your neighbors know about this message. Thank you in advance for your understanding during this difficult situation.
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
>139th Annual Harvest Fair :Old Paramus Reformed Church
10am to 4pm – Free Admission – Come early for holiday shopping, have lunch and bring friends. 660 East Glen Avenue at Rt. 17. Garage Sale – Gift Basket Raffle – Attic Treasures & Collectibles – Furniture – Jewelry – linens – books – toys – Homemade Baked Goods – & soup – Farm Stand Country Kitchen Refreshments & Lunch!
>Ridgewood Schools : UPDATE ON STORM EMERGENCY: 10.31.11
Monday, October 31, 2011 4:35 p.m.: The Ridgewood Public Schools will remain closed tomorrow, Tuesday, November 1, due to continuing storm cleanup and power outages throughout the Village. Please help to spread the word that the Ridgewood Public Schools will be closed on Tuesday, November 1.
>New anti-bullying bill of rights raises concerns
BAYONNE, NJ (WABC) — Robert Jones, 11, of Bayonne, NJ, got into an argument after school on the playground. Several were children were involved but only one shoved him to the ground, 12-year old Liam Johnson.
“They were like pushing me and not letting me leave and tugging at my bike,” Robert explains.
When asked about what happened, Liam said it was unfair to call him a bully. Following the confrontation, Johnson was suspended at school and punished at home. But that was not the end of it.
https://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_jersey&id=8413364
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>October 2011 Snow Storm Blackout
I would like to give a round of applause to Ridgewood OEM for opening a shelter for those who did not have power! Oh wait they didn’t. Many of my elderly neighbors who did not have any friends or relatives to stay with were left all alone in the cold darkness. When they called the Ridgewood Police they were told they can go a shelter in Hackensack. All Ridgewood schools were closed which is a great location to open one, but still nothing was done. These are rare occasions that we get blackouts and you would think that the village would help its residents. Sunday evening was 28 degrees! All in all Ridgewood is a very elite town and does have an enormous amount of events for its residents. The least they can do is open a shelter for those with no power in below freezing conditions. Way to go Ridgewood, keep up the lack of work!
