CAMDEN, N.J. -- District 32 Assemblyman Vincent Prieto took a facility tour of Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center on Tuesday, March 6. Assemblyman Prieto, who was sworn into the New Jersey Assembly in December 2004, was provided with a briefing about Lourdes Health System, with particular emphasis on the unique programs, awards and initiatives at both of the medical centers.

Development of the Transit Village in Camden, a $140 million redevelopment project which will convert vacant industrial properties between Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center and the PATCO train station into a mixed use complex of retail stores, offices, a grocery store, parking garage and housing, was addressed, in addition to discussion of Lourdes' new ambulatory care center, a 56,000 square facility expected to open in January 2013 on the corner of Brace Road and Route 70 in Cherry Hill. The facility will include physicians offices, testing services, therapies and wellness.

Also discussed was Lourdes' involvement in the creation of the Health Information Exchange (HIE), a web-based technology that offers Camden city and regional healthcare providers access to important medical information for Camden patients. The HIE gives providers the clinical information they need about their patients at the immediate point of care, in order to reduce unnecessary duplication and foster improved care coordination.

Assemblyman Prieto commended Lourdes for its involvement with the HIE and saw the benefits of expanding this type of system throughout the entire state. After the briefing, Assemblyman Prieto was escorted by leadership and hospital staff on a tour of the hospital including a walk through of the new maternity unit which opened that same day.

Assemblyman Prieto represents the 32nd District, which includes the Bergen County municipalities of Edgewater and Fairview, as well as the Hudson County municipalities of East Newark, Guttenberg, Harrison, Kearny, North Bergen, Secaucus and West New York.

PHOTO ATTACHED: Assemblyman Prieto visits a patient room on the new maternity floor at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center.

[From left to right: Marybeth Lahey, RN, BSN, Nurse Manager of the Maternal Child Health Division at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center; Audrey Jadczak, MHA, FACHE, RN, Chief Nursing Officer & Vice President of Education and Research for Lourdes Health System; Dr. Daniel Berger, D.O, F.A.C.O.G., laborist at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center; Craig Remington, chairperson of the Board Advocacy Committee for Lourdes Health System; Assemblyman Vincent Prieto.]