County Public Safety Director Tim Marshall said the agreement, in effect Tuesday (July 2), provides for two Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to be on call 6 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday at the Woodhull site.
The EMTS will be paid through Steuben County and will respond to emergency medical calls from residents in the town of Woodhull and provide mutual aid to locations in the State Route 417 Valley.
“This service is supplemental, we are not taking over for all the services in Steuben,” Marshall said. “We are just trying to supplement areas of the county that are struggling to provide ambulance service during the day when many volunteers are working.”
Woodhull and the neighboring communities are located in the rural southern region of the county – a location of high need identified in a 2020 county study.
Delayed by the COVID pandemic, the completed study led to several special meetings to hear from the paid and volunteer ambulance providers in the county and chaired by former Legislature Public Safety and Corrections Chairman John Malter, D-Perkinsville.
It was very clear from the study and from the meetings that the number of volunteer EMS workers was declining and the county needed to step in to provide assistance, Marshall said.
“Now – several years of research and development, and many discussions with emergency responders, has gotten us to where we are today,” he said. “There will be quicker response time and better service. People will not have to wait on volunteers, paid staff are immediately available to respond to a call.”
Calls should still be directed to 9-1-1 for dispatch, he said.
While the EMTs are paid by Steuben, patients’ insurance will be billed for services provided, he said. "This will be different from in the past when volunteers provided these services for free, County staff will be billing for services in order to try to provide support for the ongoing costs."
The unit will operate under county EMS Coordinator Brandon Rossettie, who was hired in late 2023.
“His role was pivotal to getting this operation up and running,” Marshall said. “He will coordinate the staff and resources and oversee the daily operations of the organization.”
The former Arnot program director for EMS education, teaching paramedics and EMTs, Rossettie said he has instructed the team that will be based in Woodhull and is confident of its ability to rise to the challenge of responding to medical emergencies in the surrounding rural areas.
In addition to two formal meetings, there have been numerous informal gatherings with stakeholders he said.
“The response has been tremendous,” Rossettie said.
He also plans to hold a workshop specific to response to farming accidents within the next few months, he said.
Woodhull was selected as the key site because of its central location in the area and because it has a newer ambulance and space for the county EMTs, Marshall said. The ambulance will be leased to the county unit during its hours of operation and available to volunteers on weeknights and weekends.
“Our responders can respond to neighboring jurisdictions during the day when volunteers are most limited,” Marshall said.
Existing agencies will continue to provide mutual aid as they have in the past, with the county EMT unit operating Woodhull’s ambulance, he said.
