Jersey Shore Hatzalah has announced the launch of its first Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) response vehicle, marking a major expansion in the level of emergency medical care available to the community.

For more than two decades, Jersey Shore Hatzalah has responded to medical emergencies with trained EMTs providing Basic Life Support (BLS) care. These responders stabilize patients, control bleeding, monitor vital signs, administer select medications, and transport patients safely to hospitals.

The newly introduced MICU program brings Advanced Life Support (ALS) capabilities into Hatzalah’s operations for the first time. ALS providers, commonly known as paramedics, receive extensive education and clinical training that allows them to perform advanced cardiac monitoring, interpret EKGs, administer a broader range of medications, manage complex airway procedures such as intubation, and deliver electrical therapies used in cardiac care.

In New Jersey, paramedics operate within hospital-based systems and respond in MICUs—specialized units equipped to deliver hospital-level emergency care at the scene. In the region, that system is operated by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s Mobile Health Division.

The initiative follows nearly two years of planning and coordination between Jersey Shore Hatzalah and RWJ Mobile Health. The process included regulatory approvals, integration into the existing emergency response framework, and extensive training efforts. Members of the organization underwent additional education, including paramedic certification, while others were onboarded into the RWJ system to support ALS operations.

Jersey Shore Hatzalah said it has already begun building a second MICU vehicle and is continuing to invest in training additional members as paramedics as the program expands.