The Princeton Packet

25 March, 1986

Find a home in Princeton for lifemobile

he decision to move one of the county’s Mobile Intensive Care Units from Princeton to West Windsor leaves the northwestern part of the county with reduced access to a vital service.

The decision may be practical — providing the paramedics with more space to do paperwork and relax — but it has to mean an increase in time for the lifemobile to reach the Princeton, Hopewell, Rocky Hill, and Montgomery.

West Windsor can be easily and well served by the county’s Mercerville unit as well as the unit which should be in Princeton and an East Windsor lifemobile.

The lifemobile’s move is the second since the state-mandated system went into operation in December. Princeton Medical Center was the original home for this northern Mercer unit, but office space was at such a premium the paramedics moved to the Valley Road Building. There they shared a room with the school district’s bus drivers. and were forced to leave when it was time for the bus drivers’ lunch hour.

Now the paramedics have a rent-free, comfortable home at the Princeton Junction firehouse on Clarksville Road.

But all the comforts of home won’t get the lifemobile across Route 1 any faster — a vital consideration when setting up the unit’s headquarters. Many local rescue squads will not cross Route 1 against red lights because of the danger, and paramedics cannot be expected to risk themselves on the way to a call.

The lifemobile should be headquartered as close to Princeton Medical Center as possible if it truly cannot be located at the hospital. A close working relationship between the paramedics and emergency room staff is necessary for optimum care.

It’s time for Princeton’s two local governments to get together and find space in Princeton for the lifemobile. The program requires a good-sized office to provide a place for paramedics to do paperwork and to relax when not on an emergency call.

Leadership is what is needed now to bring back a vital service originally designed to operate from Princeton to serve the needs of the northwestern part of the county.