Pa. Ambulance Service`s Members Won`t be Charged Extra by New Primary Service
Oct. 12--An ambulance company that will serve as primary responder in West Hazleton following council's reshuffling of the alarm response card will honor West Hazleton Community Ambulance memberships, a borough councilman said.
Councilman Gerald Grink said Tuesday that he's been approached by several residents who asked how council's recent decision to name American Patient Transport Systems (APTS) first-due advanced life support (ALS) responder and first-due basic life support (BLS) responder will impact memberships with the community ambulance.
For now it won't, he said.
APTS has agreed to honor community ambulance memberships for the remainder of 2016, which will give the community ambulance time to work on a plan for returning to service, Grink said.
Grink said he personally confirmed the fact that West Hazleton ambulance memberships will be accepted by APTS representatives.
"APTS will cover anyone who has had a membership and will honor memberships with West Hazleton Community Ambulance until the new year," Grink said following Tuesday's council meeting.
The councilman said that community ambulance representatives have been working with borough firefighters who also serve as EMTs to arrange a meeting where the ambulance can review its finances and consider how it can return to service.
In the meantime, residents with active memberships with the community ambulance won't have to worry if they need to rely on APTS, Grink said.
"As long as they are in membership, APTS will honor it," he said.
If the community ambulance does not return to service by Jan. 1, Grink recommends that residents consider a membership with APTS. American Patient Transport Systems was named first-due ALS and BLS responder after council voted Sept. 13 to remove the community ambulance from a list of borough responders.
Med Stat Ambulance and Valley Regional Ambulance will serve as second- and third-due ALS responders, respectively. Sugarloaf Community Rescue Ambulance and the McAdoo Ambulance will serve as second- and third-due for BLS calls.
Council President Mark Yeager said that when he was involved with the community ambulance years ago, residents would join as community members. The ambulance, in turn, would accept insurance payments and not seek further payment from those community members, he said.
Dave Fatula, general manager at American Patient Transport Systems, said the arrangement with West Hazleton and other ambulance companies from throughout the area is nothing out of the ordinary.
"It's a general agreement that we honor each other's memberships, Fatula said.
Council members said they revised the ambulance alarm card after the community ambulance failed to submit monthly reports that track response rates -- and after several borough officials experienced difficulties trying to contact ambulance association members.
Copyright 2016 - Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.
