Woodbridge proclaims EMS Week, highlights town EMS expansion and two on-scene lifesaving events

Woodbridge Township officials on Tuesday proclaimed May 2025 Emergency Medical Services Week and publicly recognized members of the township's first-responder community for recent lifesaving interventions.

The proclamation came during a council ceremony in which Mayor John McCormick and council members praised the work of the newly organized Woodbridge Police Department EMS operation and presented awards to EMTs and firefighters involved in two separate rescue incidents earlier this year.

Mayor John McCormick opened the remarks by describing the week's origins and the township's decision to mark the observance. Police Director Joan Nisky summarized the department's recent move to take a more active operational role in EMS: the department now uses staged ambulances with GPS tracking, has trained 28 sworn officers as EMTs and secured a license to operate a Woodbridge Police Department EMS unit, which leadership said includes 10 full-time hires to staff the operation.

Councilman Brian Small and other council members credited Dennis Patrick, the township's EMS manager, with helping stand up the program. In presenting the proclamation, McCormick said the Woodbridge Police Department EMS'team "respond[s] to hundreds of accidents and emergencies" and praised volunteers and staff.

The council publicly honored two sets of first responders. The meeting recognized EMTs Jonathan Ryan and William Regar and Officer Nicholas Iacobu (listed in the record as Nicholas Icovo/Iacobu), who on March 9, 2025, assisted in the on-scene delivery of an infant after determining the patient was in active labor and the baby was crowning. The proclamation says the team prepared the mother and assisted with delivery, clamped and cut the umbilical cord, and transported mother and child to the hospital.

Separately, the council presented a proclamation for firefighter Kurt Delibero for actions on March 3, 2025, at a serious motor-vehicle collision on a ramp to the southbound New Jersey Turnpike. According to the statement read at the meeting, Delibero and other first responders used hydraulic rescue tools and saws to extricate a driver who suffered multiple severe injuries; the driver survived transport to a hospital after treatment.

Speakers emphasized the role of volunteers and mutual-aid squads (including Avenel, Colonia, Port Reading and Woodbridge Township Ambulance and Rescue Squad) in the township's emergency response system. Director Nisky described operational changes the department has made, including placing GPS units on ambulances and maintaining a live map in dispatch so the ambulance closest to a call responds.

The council did not take formal policy action during the proclamation ceremony; the presentations were ceremonial and informational. The mayor and council asked that recipients stay for photos and thanked the community for supporting first responders.

The ceremony text and on-record remarks are part of the May 20, 2025, council meeting record.