The Times decided to print the responses from each of the two ambulance providers in the Walworth/Marion townships concerning the controversy over ambulance contracts and services.
Statement from Jim Lee, Wayne County EMS
There have been comments and inquiries about EMS Coverage in Walworth. The official opening of the Walworth EMS base was December 15, 2025.
We’re now stationing one ambulance crew at that base 24/7. We now have five staffed ambulances on duty in the county 24/7. We use a posting plan for County ambulances to move to areas when one or more of our ambulances are out on calls to provide back-up coverage to the extent possible.
Regarding ambulance coverage and decisions establishing a priority agency, EMS agencies are given the authority to operate by the State Department of Health, which also specifies the areas in which any agency is permitted to operate. Individual choices as to the primary agency from those having operating authority within a specific area are made by individual municipalities, such as towns, villages, or cities, not by the counties. Unless the individual municipality operates its own service, these choices are usually made through contracts or municipal board resolutions.
In this case, the choice of primary EMS agency for Walworth was made by the Town of Walworth, not the County. Both Western Wayne Ambulance and the County were notified of the intent of the Town at a public hearing considering permanence of the County’s operating authority on June 24, 2025. The Director of Western Wayne Ambulance attended that hearing, was a speaker at it, and reacted to and commented on the letter read by the Town of Walworth representative that declared the Town’s intent to make the County the primary agency in Walworth.
In the late 90s there were as many as 22 EMS provider agencies based and operating in Wayne County, with 15 of the 22 being fire department based agencies. Now, there are no fire departments in Wayne County that operate a transporting ambulance service.
Regarding hiring of EMTs and Paramedics: all of the full time positions for our Walworth base of operation were filled before the decision by Western Wayne to cut staffing was announced. All EMS positions of the County are civil service positions, which are filled from established lists of reachable candidates base on the qualifications and experience of the applicants. We always seek to fill open positions with the best possible qualified applicants to serve Wayne County residents.
Wayne County EMS continues to support the EMS system countywide, as authorized by the Board of Supervisors, as directed by the County Administrator, and in support of the requests and choices of the individual Towns or Villages.
Jim Lee, Director, Wayne County EMS
Western Wayne Ambulance Letter to the Public:
Western Wayne Ambulance, the nonprofit emergency medical service that has proudly served the residents of Walworth for more than 75 years, and Marion since 2012, announced that it will be forced to cease 24 hour operations as of 6:00p.m. on Friday. Novembcr 14, 2025. The decision follows a November 6th vote by the Walworth Town Board to designate the new tax-funded Wayne County EMS as the Town’s primary ambulance service, effective November 15 - providing less than ten days notice of the change.
Despite repeated communications over the past eighteen months to both Town and County officials explaining that the loss of primary response authority for either Walworth or Marion would render the organization financially unsustainable, the Town Board moved forward with the resolution without prior discussion with, or direct notice to, the agency.
Western Wayne Ambulance employs a dedicated team of career EMTs. paramedics. and community volunteers who provide round-the-clock coverage for the Towns of Walworth and Marion, responding to approximately 1,500 emergency calls annually with a 95% coverage rate - all without any cost to local taxpayers. Like most local EMS providers across New York State. The agency operates on insurance reimbursements and community donations.
“If we had been approached even once by this Town Board to meaningfully discuss solutions to the Board’s perceived concerns, we would have readily accepted the opportunity,” said Cody Szatkowski, the agency’s President. “Our organization has been transparent about the financial realities of rural EMS and has worked hard to sustain service to this community. Losing primary response authority in Walworth eliminates our ability to continue current services.
The agency is now working to assist its professional staff with employment transitions-just weeks before the December holidays-and to determine whether limited or volunteer-based response capabilities can be maintained in the future.
Western Wayne Ambulance urges both the Walworth Town Board and the Wayne County Board of Supervisors to reconsider the resolution and its effects, and to work corroboratively to preserve a diverse and community-rooted EMS system - one that ensures timely. reliable emergency care for all Wayne County residents.
About Western Wayne Ambulance:
Founded in 1949 as the Walworth Fire Department Ambulance. Western Wayne Ambulance has provided continuous emergency medical services to the residents of Walworth for over 75 years and to the Town of Marion for the last 16 years. The agency’s mission is to deliver professional, compassionate, and community-based pre-hospital care to the residents of Walworth and surrounding communities.
Letter from Colin Van Laeken, EMS Manager
