New hosp. owners sign contract for town ambulance service
Beginning April 1, Secaucus residents will finally have 24-hour access to two ambulances.
MHA, LLC, the new owners of Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center, will completely underwrite the costs associated with the new ambulance service contract. There will be no cost to the residents of Secaucus for the new ambulance service.
The dollar value of the services being offered by MHA is nearly $760,000.
Secaucus residents have for years had access to only one ambulance in town, with a second ambulance being “on-call” from Jersey City Medical Center. Residents have complained this left them vulnerable in the event that two 911 calls were placed around the same time, and some said that response times from the second ambulance, which was parked at a staging area in Jersey City, were slower than the acceptable national average.
Now, under a five-year contract with McCabe Ambulance Service, Secaucus will have two ambulances stationed in town. And under the contract, McCabe is required to respond to 911 calls with seven minutes and 59 seconds, barring any extraordinary circumstances.
The ambulances will be stationed at Meadowlands Hospital and Town Hall.
Previously, the town paid nearly $500,000 for the costs associated with its primary ambulance.
New Hope leaving for Marlboro
A teen drug rehabilitation program that had long been based in Secaucus will leave town, effective March 31.
Due to rising expenses, the New Hope Foundation on County Avenue will close its Secaucus facility and relocate to a foundation building in Marlboro. The Marlboro facility will be expanded to accommodate about a dozen teenagers who will be relocated next month.
New Hope Foundation give teens struggling with drug addition a place to recover from their disease, while also attending school and working toward their high school diplomas.
There are about 30 teens at the Secaucus facility at present, some of whom will be discharged from the New Hope program before the move to Marlboro.
Free concert at library
Pianist Jeremy Rafal will perform a concert at the Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center on Sunday, March 20, at 2 p.m. Rafal will be joined by Josh Henderson on violin, soprano Adrienne Pardee, and mezzo-soprano Laura Virella.
Born in the Philippines and raised in Hawaii, Rafal is currently pursuing his doctorate degree at Indiana University with a full scholarship as a recipient of the Chancellor’s Fellowship. He is now under the tutelage of pianist and teacher Karen Shaw.
The repertoire for this concert includes music by Schumann and Debussy, as well as a violin sonata by Beethoven. For more information, call (201) 330-2083. Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center, 1379 Paterson plank Road, Secaucus.