Future of EMS in Pa. Township Ignites Furious Debate
March 19--Coolbaugh Township's consideration of changing one regional primary EMS responder ignited a flurry of anger Tuesday night from nearly 100 residents who said that the switch could jeopardize their lives.
The township has not reviewed the EMS designation in several years, Chairwoman Lynn Kelly said, and has gotten new information from Pocono Mountain Regional EMS about alleged service issues with Thornhurst EMS.
Thornhurst EMS is the primary contact for BLS, or basic life support, calls in the Arrowhead Lake and Riverside Estates region, with PMREMS as secondary.
More serious ALS, or advanced life support, calls are already routed through PMREMS first.
Several residents offered emotional testimony, citing times when Thornhurst medics' quick responses saved the life of a relative or provided a sense of security if a family member had ongoing health problems.
Jessica Szmak, an Arrowhead Lake resident, walked into the packed room from the hallway lined with people waiting to speak. Tears ran down her face as she introduced her 4-year-old daughter.
Her daughter was "born dead," Szmak said, in a Thornhurst ambulance, and medics saved her life.
"If it wasn't for Thornhurst, she wouldn't be here," Szmak said.
The crowd said the medics know the local roads best and often arrive at scenes long before PMREMS responders.
But Austin Grammes, business manager for PMREMS, told the crowd that his concern is long response times.
He held pages of records, saying they show Thornhurst had failed to respond quickly to scenes.
"I hear what you folks are saying," he said. "The call sheets don't back it up."
Sometimes, he said, the company does not respond to the first notice of a call.
After a three-minute delay, the call comes in a second time. If missed again, three minutes after that, or at least nine minutes after the initial call, the dispatcher contacts PMREMS.
He said he has great respect for volunteers, but records also show medics putting in 72 hours a week at times. That is too much, he said.
"Our concerns are your well-being," he said.
Grammes said his goal is not to put Thornhurst out of business. Losing its designation would likely mean a large hit to call volume and resulting billing.
Attendees and Thornhurst Capt. Sue Remak said allegations raised with both Coolbaugh and Tobyhanna township officials are false.
She said three dropped calls in 2013 were due to a volunteer who is no longer with the company, and Thornhurst has also resolved a technical issue with the county that delayed response times.
"They're saying we're not equipped," she said. "We're equipped."
But Grammes said after the meeting that the problems go further back.
"We're very concerned for the people," he said. "We've been very fortunate that nobody got hurt."
After the meeting, Kelly said the public hearing was part of an ongoing fact-finding process. A decision on the designation likely will not come up for a vote before May.
Copyright 2014 - Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, Pa.
