Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
St. Mary Medical Center will be ending their contract to provide advanced life support ambulance service to Upper Makefield Township after nearly 10 years.
The Upper Makefield Township Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday evening to enter into an emergency medical response service agreement with the Newtown Ambulance Squad. The township will pay the Newtown Ambulance Squad $245,000 under the one-year contract, and the ambulance squad will bill patients or their insurers for calls.
The deal gives language for the township and squad to work on improving and potentially increasing service.
The 21-square-mile township paid no money to St. Mary Medical Center as part of their deal and the hospital billed a patient or their health insurer, but township officials said this week the financials weren’t working in the current climate.
St. Mary Medical Center, which is based in Middletown Township, has been serving most of Upper Makefield Township with an advanced life support ambulance since 2013. Due to the cost and staffing difficulties, the medical center’s ambulance service that is based at the Upper Makefield Fire Company station on Taylorsville Road will cease at the end of February, officials said.
Parts of Upper Makefield Township closer to Newtown Township and Wrightstown Township have been and will continue to be served by the Newtown Ambulance Squad and Central Bucks Emergency Medical Services.
Newtown Ambulance Squad Chief Evan Resnikoff said his organization, which is based in Newtown Township, will need some time to get up and running in the community. He said his squad is working to get a station license from the county, establish a communications set up, recruit a few more staffers, and purchase a response vehicle.
“No matter what, you will not be without service come March 1,” Resnikoff said.
The chief said the county will dispatch the nearest ambulance to respond to calls for service.
Tom Cino, the supervisors chairperson, vowed to residents that the municipality won’t be left without ambulance service.
“Our intention is to continue the service,” he said.
The proposal that was accepted calls for a Newtown Ambulance Squad response vehicle to be stationed with either an EMT, advanced EMT, or paramedic in the township. During busier periods throughout the week, the squad will have an ambulance stationed and crewed in the township.
New Hope Borough has a similar set up with a paramedic response vehicle in town and then an ambulance being dispatched from Central Bucks Emergency Medical Services or from the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad in New Jersey when needed.
The Newtown Ambulance Squad presently has two ambulances working each shift in their coverage area. During storms and for big events, the squad can station additional crews and vehicles at their Newtown Township and Upper Makefield Township stations, Resnikoff said.
Upper Makefield Township has a low call volume, and Resnikoff stated the squad’s plans will provide adequate emergency medical coverage. He said township police, the squad’s response vehicle in Upper Makefield Township, and an ambulance will all be dispatched for medical calls.
The chief called the proposal “realistic” and noted the ambulance service industry has changed in recent years.
Officials said they were told it would cost $700,000 per year to keep an ambulance in the township full time, but Cino said there was also not a provider stepping up match the current hospital-provided service of having an ambulance in the township around the clock.
Cino said he doesn’t think the proposal is a long-term solution, but it will fit at the moment as the township looks to the future.
A decade ago, Upper Makefield Township contracted with St. Mary Medical Center after surrounding squads that provided ambulances were becoming busier and officials worried about slower response times.
Officials said the soon-to-end St. Mary Medical Center ambulance service has been facing staffing challenges and losing money.
Several residents spoke and asked questions about ambulance service. Two residents called for further investigation to be done to ensure there will be an ambulance in the township around the clock.
Resnikoff addressed talk of slow response times raised a decade ago before Upper Makefield Township had dedicated ambulance service.
“There were some dire response time reports from 2012,” he said, but noted the current plan will have a trained responder in the township around the clock.
Resnikoff said he brought the plan before county emergency management officials and a doctor who works with the ambulance squads in the county before it was presented to the public.
Township officials said they learned several months ago that St. Mary Medical Center will be ending their ambulance service. The township spoke with several ambulance services before voting on the Newtown Ambulance Squad deal.
The Newtown Ambulance Squad closed their transport service last year due to staffing issues. At that time, they went from 120 employees to 43 employees. Resnikoff said the focus of the squad is solely on emergency care and transportation and they are well-staffed.
“We run a pretty lean but fiscally responsible operation,” he said
