CHARLOTTE BIALEK
Board of Education
Princeton Regional Schools
NANCY PRINCE, BENJAMIN COLBERT,
Co-Chairs 250th Anniversary Celebration Steering Committee
JAMES A. FLOYD, FANNIE E. FLOYD
Harris Road
PAM HERSH
Vice President for Government and Community Affairs Princeton HealthCare System
LOUIS SLEE
Spruce Street
To the Editor:
The Princeton Regional Schools Celebrations last Saturday was a "thank you" to the community for its comprehensive and continuing support of public education. With wonderful fall weather and a unique opportunity to tour the new buildings and experience the depth and breadth of community involvement in the schools, over 3000 people attended the festivities during the day. Hundreds more attended the Friends of Princeton Athletics Banner Dedication and the evening Gala celebrating the opening of the Trego Biancosino Auditorium.
I would like to thank all those who came and helped to make it such a wonderful event. Their presence, interest, and interactions in the schools and with the many student and community groups on Walnut Lane was just what we hoped for.
I would also like to thank the many volunteers who helped to make the day and evening run smoothly. Their willingness to give of their time, talent, and energy is truly remarkable. Thanks!
Thanks, too, to the Princeton Borough and Township Police Departments, the Fire Department, and First Aid and Rescue Squad for being with us and helping us feel comfortable and secure on what turned out to be a very enjoyable day.
The staff of the Princeton Regional schools are to be congratulated for an excellent job with the thousands of details entailed in readying the schools for the Open House; preparing for tours; hanging exhibitions; doing demonstrations; helping students set up for the street festival; cleaning everything over and over again; wiring, checking, broadcasting; preparing signs and programs; watching over exhibits, the pool, the School Store, the auditoriums and classrooms; and providing information and fun for all of our guests.
Finally, I would like to thank the core planning group: Jo Singer, Joan Morelli, Jane Holland, Karen Klein Pinto, Eric Karch, Mark Freda, Karen Woodbridge, Holly Holcombe, Suzanne Carroll, Angela Siso, Linda Shaw and Judy Wilson. Thank you all for making the Princeton Regional Schools Opens New Doors celebrations happen and for making the planning process so much fun.
CHARLOTTE BIALEK
Board of Education
Princeton Regional Schools
To the Editor:
For an entire year, the Witherspoon Street and Nassau Presbyterian Churches have been celebrating 250 years of a Presbyterian Presence in Princeton. This yearlong celebration culminated in a festive service of worship at McCarter Theatre on Sunday, September 24.
First, we wish to acknowledge the contributions of the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church and its pastor, the Rev. M. Muriel Burrows; the Nassau Presbyterian Church and its pastor, the Rev. Dr. David A. Davis; other staff; and the members and friends of both churches.
We also feel grateful for the support and goodwill of McCarter Theatre, Princeton University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton Public Library, the Historical Society of Princeton, the William Schiede Center for Archives and Special Collections at PTS, and a whole host of people too numerous to name.
We express special thanks to the members of our 250th Anniversary Steering Committee for their commitment to this significant project: Meg Coghlan, Tom Coogan, Jamey Deming, Barbara Flythe, Suzanne Hunt, Chase Hunt, Cecelia B. Hodges, Jock McFarlane, Jim Moorhead, Doodie Meyer, Shirley A. Satterfield, Joy Saville, and Janet Dickerson Stephens. We look forward to future collaborations intending to honor and fulfill the theme, "Partners in Faith — The Journey Continues."
NANCY PRINCE, BENJAMIN COLBERT,
Co-Chairs 250th Anniversary Celebration Steering Committee
To the Editor:
Recently, a constructive and thoughtful letter regarding the future development of the Merwick site was published (Town Topics, September 27). The writer, Helmut Schwab, suggested a reasonable plan for a mixed use residential area that would enhance the diversity in our town.
Much of what Mr. Schwab proposed was indeed discussed and recommended by the participants in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood meetings on March 11 and March 25. It should be especially noted that the participants also concur with Mr. Schwab's position that this should not be a "high-density design," but rather a density that is compatible with the neighborhood.
We, the undersigned, lend our support to Mr. Schwab's proposal for connectivity and diversity on the Merwick site.
JAMES A. FLOYD, FANNIE E. FLOYD
Harris Road
MINNIE CRAIG, ERIC CRAIG, RUSSELL L. STAPERT
Witherspoon Street
HELEN BESS
John Street
WILLIE MAE TADLOCK, HETTIE R. DEAN
Green Street
GJ.M. CARTER
Trenton
MAMIE OLDHAM
Clay Street
JAMES PHOX
Ewing Street
LEN and RUBY NEWTON
Dempsey Avenue
To the Editor: In reference to last week's Town Talk column (Town Topics, October 11), I wanted to clarify the decision making process that was involved in the University Medical Center at Princeton (UMCP) clinic issue and reiterate the hospital's commitment to providing the best possible health care services to all users of the hospital regardless of their economic situation.
On Tuesday, October 3, the members of Princeton Borough Council unanimously endorsed a proposal outlining how UMCP, part of the Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS), would serve those Princeton residents who, because of no car or bus availability, would be unable to access the hospital Clinic services when the hospital moves. According to the proposal — which was also unanimously endorsed by the Princeton Task Force on Neighborhood Access to Health Care — UMCP would commit to providing transportation rather than establishing a free-standing clinic as the best way to serve the healthcare accessibility needs of the residents of Princeton.
In the spring of this year, Princeton Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman suggested convening a citizens' Task Force on Neighborhood Access to Health Care to look at the issue of transportation-challenged Clinic users, i.e., those residents who walked and biked to the Clinic and had no other means of transportation at their disposal. In addition to Princeton Borough Mayor Trotman and Princeton Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand, the group included the chair of the Princeton Regional Health Commission, the Princeton Regional Health Officer, Princeton Borough Council and Princeton Township Committee elected officials, and representatives from various socioeconomic cultural groups in Princeton. At the time of the first meeting in June, UMCP made a commitment to follow the recommendation of the Task Force on Neighborhood Access to HealthCare.
The resolution that was unanimously supported by the Task Force and then by Borough Council stated, "The data (gathered from two UMCP Clinic surveys, one in 2004 and one in 2006) indicate that the volume of use among no-access-to-car Princeton residents is far too low to support a viable free-standing Clinic separate from the Clinic operating at the relocated UMCP. Volume drives quality in health care. The trend seems to be that more and more users are getting to the Clinic via non-walking and non-biking modes of transportation. Therefore, the Task Force concludes that transportation solutions are the preferred way to meet the Clinic access needs of Princeton residents. And people will be best served by getting treatment at the Clinic operating at the new hospital where they will receive the same state-of-the-art, high-quality care that would be available to non-Clinic users."
Since no public transportation exists between the current UMCP site and the future site in Plainsboro, UMCP has committed to providing on-demand transportation service from Princeton to the new site during the Clinic hours of operation, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Arrangements for such a transportation service would be facilitated by an information center that PHCS would establish in the current hospital neighborhood. The purpose of this new facility, the Princeton HealthCare System Neighborhood Health Care Information Center, would be to provide health care education information, make appointments at the UMCP Clinic, and arrange transportation to the Clinic. The Center, like the Clinic, would be staffed by individuals who could provide information in English and Spanish and have access to translation services in other languages.
Thanks to all the Princeton residents who took an interest in this very important community health issue. Please contact me if you have any questions.
PAM HERSH
Vice President for Government and Community Affairs Princeton HealthCare System
To the Editor:
A number of questions arise from the report on task force findings regarding the decision to eliminate a free-standing medical clinic on Witherspoon Street. The finding that two clinics might lead to inequities in health care seems to be based on the "minuscule" number of patients using the current clinic. How was that determined and what is the number? Is the clinic the emergency room?
Patients who may fall into "the working poor" category may be those who most often use emergency room services. Does the term "inequities" refer to them?
In other hospitals in Mercer County a patient can only be admitted via the emergency room, apparently under agreement between family doctors and the hospital. If the clinic is the ER it makes sense to have it located at the hospital. But what about the kind of care that does not fall under the ER mandate? Elsewhere this is called "urgent care," and is considered a valuable adjunct to hospitals.
The fact that Princeton Hospital is a profit-making institution has to be considered if it is to survive. But the population density of Princeton and its environs should also be taken into account in providing health care. An urgent care facility in the Borough could be a viable way to provide a level of care to residents and additional income to the hospital.
LOUIS SLEE
Spruce Street