A group of elected officials are pitching the idea of turning the recently closed Kessler Memorial Hospital into a fully operational V.A. Hospital.

“…If you need full hospital care, you either have to go to Philadelphia or you have to go to Delaware, or you have to go to northern New Jersey,” said Sen. Jeff Van Drew, who along with Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matt Milam, signed a letter requesting an evaluation of Kessler as a location for a V.A. hospital.

That request letter was sent last week to the offices of U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, “….at the very least it is worth expanding the energy to try to make this happen, what do we have to lose, we don’t have a Southern Jersey veterans hospital now.”

Since closing its doors last month and laying off hundreds of employees, the Hammonton hospital has stood mostly vacant, with the exception of the E.R., which is now a satellite facility run by AtlantiCare, “….it would create jobs, it would create economic energy, it would help our veterans.”

Van Drew said that his office has heard back from U.S. Sen. Menendez, who expressed interest in the idea.