This story touches my heart deeply, because this is where my older son was born in 1996, and my younger son was born in 1998. This hospital was closed down when a "newer, bigger" one was built in 2003.

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Medical practitioners to revive Newcomb hospital site in Vineland
By JULIET FLETCHER Staff Writer, 856-237-9020
Published: Friday, July 18, 2008
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/208435.html

VINELAND - Doctors and developers joined forces Thursday to launch plans for a health care center and medical school within the former Newcomb Medical Center.
Passaic County real estate developer Tony Danza said he worked for two years to form a coalition of experts in clinical practice, long-term care and medical education who now intend to set up services inside a
$70 million medical condominium.

"We fought, we struggled, but we're now at that point," said Danza on Thursday.

He introduced Jay Sexter, a founder of three medical schools in conjunction with New York-based Touro College, which plans to launch a school of osteopathic medicine within the complex.

Francisco Peters, president and CEO of Lormar health care, hopes to open a long-term care and assisted-living facility there.

And beside them to greet the announcement was Chester Kaletkowski, head of South Jersey Healthcare. When the company largely left the hospital for a new Sherman Avenue site in 2004, an occupational-therapy center remained on the premises.
Now, as South Jersey Healthcare plans to sell Danza the land and buildings at State Street and Chestnut Avenue - including the hospital structure from the 1920s - both groups said they agreed that each company would try to cooperate, rather than compete, with the others in the condominium.

"We don't want to offer the same services," Peters explained, adding that he hoped his facility would bring in patients who could also use the other medical outlets.

Danza said that he hopes to complete the purchase and break ground within six months. The site would be developed and split into self-contained units and sold to operators such as Lormar and the medical school.

Between 300 and 400 jobs would be created, Danza said.

Sandra Forosisky, the city's redevelopment director, said the city had waited for the right project to come along.

In particular, Sexter said that the medical school would act as a huge draw for young people to the area.

"Some of the students will come from Vineland, but not all. We want people to come to Vineland," he said.

Pointing to research that shows doctors tend to stay and practice where they are trained, he said, "We want them to move here. We want their parents to come and visit and stay at the local motels.

"They may even get into trouble from time to time in your local bars. Not much trouble, we hope."

Among qualified students, he said, the center would be able to give priority to those who lived locally.

Frank DiGiorgio, who works in the city's economic development department, said after the announcement that the site, which combines three lots, had been tax-exempt in its time as a hospital, but South Jersey Healthcare had paid around $93,000 last year in taxes on the property.

Nevertheless, Mayor Romano praised the plan. "I arrived on the back end of this," he said, offering credit to the city's economic development department for guiding the plan to the announcement stage.

"This will bring a hub of medical services to that area," he said. "It'll bring expertise, and tax dollars."

E-mail Juliet Fletcher: JFletcher@pressofac.com