'Ferguson Delivered For The Children We Serve'

8/10/06

Children's Specialized Hospital received a boost when Congressman Mike Ferguson secured initial approval of $300,000 in federal funding to help renovate the Union County facility's long-term care unit, the Westfield Leader reported.

The newspaper reported that Congressman Ferguson met with hospital staff and volunteers as well as parents with children who are patients in the Mountainside facility, which is the nation's largest pediatric rehabilitation hospital.

"When I come here, I look at this place through the eyes of a parent," Congressman Ferguson said, according to the Westfield Leader. "It [Children's Specialized Hospital] turns challenges into triumphs. There is no place like this in New Jersey."

Amy Mansue, the hospital's president, told the newspaper that the federal funding would jump-start the hospital's $15 million renovation to expand its ability to provide quality care for children with long-term medical needs.

"The congressman heard our plea and fought hard for us," Mansue told the Westfield Leader. "Congressman Ferguson has been the person we go to and is our voice in Washington."

Last year, Congressman Ferguson separately secured $190,000 in federal funding to expand outpatient services at the hospital.

"We're grateful that when we turned to Congressman Ferguson for help, he delivered for the children we serve," Mansue said.

In addition to its main facility in Mountainside, Children's Specialized Hospital has other facilities in Fanwood and Roselle Park as well as several locations statewide.

Congressman Ferguson's 7th District includes portions of Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties.