Borough Council discusses UMCP move

The Borough Council met on Tuesday evening to discuss the logistics of relocating the University Medical Center of Princeton to Plainsboro off Route 1 and the recent string of car burglaries that occurred north of Nassau Street earlier this month.

Barry Rabner, chief executive and president of Princeton HealthCare System, began the meeting with a presentation regarding UMCP’s relocation plans.

Patients currently at UMCP will be transported to the new location in Plainsboro on May 22. UMCP administrators have coordinated the move with Borough police and emergency responders and will not rely on outside resources to facilitate transportation.

Rabner also displayed a blueprint of the new medical campus. He highlighted its state-of-the-art emergency room, free community health clinic and medical research office.

“From a functional standpoint ... it’s all connected,” Rabner said, referring to the numerous different buildings and resources available.

The Council then moved to discuss the transportation program that links the community with the new medical center. The Borough’s "Crosstown" program provides door-to-door transportation to the hospital for elderly and disabled residents.

“From a budgetary side, would we anticipate our portion of crosstown [transportation] going up?” Councilwoman Jo Butler asked.

Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi said that it was still unclear exactly how much usage the new transportation program would receive, but he assured the Council that the Borough’s transportation budget of about $40,000 would soften the impact of any new transportation costs.

There will also be a new health information center, where the public can locate transportation to the new hospital, obtain general health information and schedule medical appointments. Rabner said that no actual medical care would be given at the center, however.

Next on the agenda was a report by Chief of Borough Police David Dudeck. He warned of the 18 car burglaries that occurred and asked that the public be advised to be wary of suspicious activities in parking lots and roadsides. He also discussed the rising number of pedestrian-vehicle safety incidents.

“The chief is applying maximum resources to the [issues at hand],” Councilman Kevin Wilkes ’83 said.