Yet over the past five decades, one thing has remained constant: Princeton House’s commitment to responding to critical needs and serving as a resource for patients, families, providers, and the broader community.
“From the beginning, Princeton House has been dedicated to advancing the mental health of our community,” says Marguerite Pedley, PhD, Senior Vice President of Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health. “We’ve had a long-standing focus on treating the whole person, including being one of the first in the state to adopt a dual diagnosis model that addresses mental health and substance use disorders concurrently.”
Today, Princeton House is comprised of a 116-bed inpatient facility with acute partial hospital and intensive outpatient services at five outpatient sites throughout Central and Southern New Jersey. The care continuum also includes the 22-bed Princeton Center for Eating Disorders, a six-bed Behavioral Health Emergency Department, and an Electroconvulsive Therapy Suite.
As the team across Princeton House launches a multifaceted celebration of this momentous anniversary, it marks an opportunity to reflect on the many lives that have been changed over the years through the thoughtful delivery of high-quality, compassionate care.
“Patients often come to us at an utter crisis point in their lives, and we take that responsibility to heart,” says Peter J. Thomas, PhD, Vice President of Outpatient Services at Princeton House. “Our goal is to enable them to return to their regular lives with greater stability and an expanded set of tools to deal with stresses and challenges.”
Princeton House stands on a firm foundation of caring professionals who have paved the way to foster ongoing advances in treatment and technology. More recently, this includes responding effectively to a tsunami of need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nine business days after closing our in-person outpatient programs, we launched an entirely new virtual program to meet the needs of our community and beyond,” says Thomas. “Many of those who contributed to this transformation have described it as one of the most challenging and rewarding efforts of their careers.”
“Our team is at the heart of what makes Princeton House so special,” adds Pedley. “They are consistently committed to excellence, quality, and innovation—and to delivering the best patient experience possible to those we serve. We’re proud to celebrate these ideals as we mark Princeton House’s 50th anniversary.”
