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The Wellsville Volunteer Ambulance Corps (WVAC) is finalizing a plan to increase its paid medic staff. About one year ago the organization teamed up with E5 Support Services to provide a paid advanced care staff. Currently the ambulance corps has a paid staff of four medics. Those medics are employed by E5, which contracts the service with Wellsville. According to Wellsville Board member Andrew Sweezy, the WVAC hopes to double its paid staff by October 1st. Right now, WVAC has a paid medic staff of four medics from 4 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. According to Sweezy, the expanded staff will be on call from 6 p.m. Sunday through 6 p.m. on Friday. When not committed to a Wellsville call, the staff also operates Medic 100, which covers calls in Amity and Andover. Sweezy said they are beginning a regional approach. He says the ambulance board “is happy” with the staffing results. The ambulance corps adopted the paid staffing plan when studies showed the WVAC was not able to cover all of its call at the volunteer level. Sweezy says the number of calls the WVAC can’t handle today averages ten calls per month, down dramatically from a year ago. He says the new staffing should reduce the call turnover to others agencies. When Wellsville can’t gather a crew to answer a call, the emergency is turned over to a nearby ambulance service or Medical Transport Service, a commercial agency. The ambulance corps was founded in 1967.
