Without More Aid, Ambulance Company in Pa. Says it will Close in 90 Days
Dec. 23--The Exeter Ambulance Association will shutter its 9-1-1 service by March 23, unless Exeter Township supervisors agree to provide funding to keep it financially afloat.
Ron Galipeau, president of the nonprofit EMS responder, made the 90-day closing announcement at Monday's board of supervisors meeting.
"We are at the breaking point," Galipeau said over the phone Monday afternoon. "Because we cannot get financial support from the township, we are being forced to close."
A packed house attended the meeting, but a sparse board of just three supervisors was in attendance. Supervisors Dona L. Starr and Barry Ziegler were absent.
With about 40 full-time employees, the ambulance association serves as the principal provider of emergency medical services in Exeter and St. Lawrence borough. Exeter Township, however, has been considering making the Exeter Township Fire Department the primaryEMS provider in the township.
A motion by Supervisor Jeff Bukowski to appoint Exeter Fire as the primary 9-1-1 service provider, effective March 23, failed Monday. Supervisor Gary E. Lloyd backed it, but Kenneth A. Smith voted against it, denying it the majority three votes needed to pass.
Smith argued instead that the board should hold off on any decision until the Dec. 30 meeting, when the full board would be present and Smith could present a proposal he'd been working on to potentially solve the problem.
With the changing economics of pre-hospital services, Galipeau estimates that the ambulance association has been losing approximately $126,000 annually.
Galipeau said the township's lack of support for the ambulance association has been an ongoing problem in recent years.
"There's a certain amount of work we do for the township -- fire scene standby, even emergency transports, where people don't pay or can't pay," Galipeau said. "What we've been asking for is for the township to fund the unreimbursed care, about $120,000 a year."
Smith said that the township directed $25,000 to the ambulance association this year for capital equipment.
At Monday's meeting, Exeter Deputy Fire Chief Chris Chamberlain asked supervisors to move promptly in their decision whether to make Exeter Fire the primary 9-1-1 provider for the township.
"We need to have that green flag to get started," Chamberlain said. "Once that's in place, we can move forward with supplies and vehicles."
Asked by Bukowski if the fire department was in a position to take over primary ambulance 9-1-1 service on or before March 23, Chamberlain responded that it was "certainly a possibility."
But in the event that the fire department isn't ready, they had worked out agreements with neighboring ambulance services to temporarily fill any service gaps, he said.
If designated as the primary EMS provider, Chamberlain added, the fire department would be interested in offering all ambulance association employees interviews for potential positions within the fire company's EMS division.
"We've been on the perch ready to launch for quite awhile," Chamberlain said. "We need to have that designation."
Contact Becca Y. Gregg: 610-371-5032 or bgregg@readingeagle.com.
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