Like any volunteer agency, the Wellsville Volunteer Ambulance Corps (WVAC) has faced challenges in recent years. Anyone who listens to a radio scanner knows this - it's no secret. However, the ambulance corps, which was founded in 1967, has announced a bold new policy initiative that it hopes will result in better service and care for the people it serves.
Beginning April 2, the ambulance service will have a paid paramedic or critical care technician stationed at the ambulance bay Monday-Friday from 4 a.m. until 4 p.m. On Tuesday, Wellsville Regional News (WRN) was invited to meet one on one with some of the members of the WVAC's Research and Planning committee. EMS Chief Erik Potter openly admitted "we've had difficulties securing crews." In 2017, the ambulance service couldn't field a crew for more than 126 calls. Those calls, which included a delayed response, were turned over to other agencies. In total, the WVAC did answer a staggering 1,541 calls last year. Committee Chair Andrew Sweezy said "taxpayers and residents deserve to receive a Wellsville ambulance in a timely manner." He said the goal is to cover 100% of calls. Committee member Bob Prior said that during the daytime, "we want an ambulance to respond within three minutes."
The ambulance corps has contracted with E5 Support Services based in Queensbury, NY. The agency will conduct the job interviews, expected to occur March 20th and 21st. The paid medics will become employees of E5. They'll be paid $18/hour. Full time opportunities are likely. The committee wanted to be clear, the policy is not designed to shun current volunteers. Committee member John Fleischman said if a volunteer EMT or medic shows up weekdays, the paid staff will stand down and remain available for additional calls.
Sweezy admitted, "we've been blasted on response times, especially on social media." Prior said the move was necessary. He said jobs are disappearing, volunteerism is at an all-time low...but the ambulance calls keep pouring in. He noted the opioid crisis has resulted in a surge of advanced life support calls. Chairman Sweezy said New York is 49th of 50 states in volunteerism. Since 2012, 79 EMS agencies have closed...including two so far this year. He said "we're trying to better the situation."
Another committee member, Jan Reisman, said she has spent countless hours researching ways to reduce costs and bolster service. She believes contracting with E5 will keep the WVAC "moving forward."
The notion of having a limited paid staff has been discussed for a "few years," but talks grew more serious within the last five months.
The committee members said the medic will be paid from revenue generated from the increased number of calls answered. The WVAC currently bills insurance companies for transports. A missed call means a loss of money.
The ambulance corps has signed a contract with E5 to provide staffing for the remainder of 2018. The WVAC will hold quarterly meetings with the staffing company to review response times and iron out issues. The team said E5 will handle payroll, paperwork and training for both paid staff and volunteers. Chief Potter said the agency has attempted multiple recruitment and retention strategies will little success. Mr. Sweezy said he "hopes the community reaction will be positive."
The committee readily admits this plan is no silver bullet. There will still be multiple calls at once and gaps, but the members were passionate that the organization "had to do something." Members stopped short of calling the current situation a crisis, but serious concern was readily evident on their faces.
The proud agency, once known for having 60 second responses times and waiting lists for duty shifts, has fallen victim to modern times - as most have.
One member said that work lives and family lives have become more busy over time and the training requirements leveled for even basic EMT's have jumped. Potter said the WVAC is aggressively working on incentives for members..."anything to keep people interested."
The committee said it is reviewing public outreach opportunities...to explain the dire circumstances to community members face to face.
The decline in membership has been festering for years. Veteran members, who remember the 'easier days' seemingly are in full support of this change in direction. One seasoned member told WRN, "hey, we gotta do something...I have only so much time I can give personally."
Fleischman said "I hopes this moves us forward."
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Wellsville Ambulance provides service to the towns of Wellsville, Willing, Alma, Scio and a portion of Ward. The district includes two nursing homes and one major adult care facility as well as an airport. The Corps also provides medical services and coverage for major events to include the Wellsville hot Air Balloon Rally and the Ridge Walk and Run. The initiative will not result in a tax increase for its contracted towns.