Local Coalition Wants Your Input

There was standing room only at the Princeton Health Care Public Forum this past

Thursday evening, June 21st. Organized by the Save Our Hospital Coalition, Princeton and Area residents participated in the first "open door" meeting with elected and appointed

officials since the scheduled emergency room closures began on May 1.

So, was the Forum a success? From an audience participation standpoint, it certainly

was. Through personal stories and pointed questions, residents shared their frustration

and displeasure with the present state of health care in our community. And in a

potentially volatile atmosphere, residents of Princeton showed a lot of class, remaining

respectful throughout the Forum. 

It was also heartwarming to hear so many tributes given to our local health care team. It is clear that Princeton appreciates the work done by our local doctors, nurses, lab technicians, radiologists, therapists and other caregivers.

The other purpose for the Forum, however, was to move forward with a discussion on

possible solutions for our health care problems. And in that regard, the Forum was less

successful. 

There were two questions that the panelists were asked to address: 

1)What can be done to improve health care to Princeton and Area residents? and 

2) What would you describe as essential health services for Princeton and Area?

Beyond the obvious need to restore 24/7 emergency services, there were very few

suggestions made to improve local health care and none of the panelists made an effort

to define "essential health services" for our community.

So if the politicians are unable or unwilling to answer these questions, then perhaps the

community will need to do it for them. Save Our Hospital Coalition is optimistic that the

ER problem will be remedied, at least for the short term. We are also committed to long

term solutions that will improve overall health care in our community. We understand

that we are dealing with a very complex problem and solutions will take time. 

We intend to keep working on this until we have a model of care that people feel comfortable with and that people feel they deserve. If you have any ideas or suggestions that will help us answer our two questions, please contact us. We want to hear from you.

Ed Staples, Vice President

Save Our Hospital Coalition

edwardstaples8@gmail.com