The EMS Evaluation Committee consisting of Dr. Mike Kukfa, Carly Zecker, Mike Orr, Dan Brooks, Abram Moll, and Tom Watson presented their research findings and recommendations on the fate of the Williamson Volunteer Ambulance.
According to the Williamson Town Board-appointed “evaluation committee”, Williamson Volunteer Ambulance Service (WVAS) is in danger of folding, thus the Town residents will have to rely on County-wide ambulance services. While researching, the EMS Evaluation Committee presented their research findings and recommendations at the last Town Board meeting. The town also has sent out a survey mailer to residents to choose which option they would like to see happen.
Considering effectiveness, cost, sustainability, implementation, and localness as their criteria the committee provided the Town Board with several considerations. Currently WVAS is facing a volunteer shortage, and the training required to obtain and maintain certifications can be daunting. Currently Williamson operates a full-time Basic Life Support (BLS) and part-time Advanced Life Support (ALS), crew shares with Ontario Volunteer Emergency Service (OVES), and utilizes the Flycar Paramedic service when ALS is required and WVAS does not have anyone available.
The town relies on short response times to provide the best outcomes for patients. When a call is made to 911, it is handled by County dispatch. From there, service area and rig availability are considered and all of this time is significant when a critical call comes in and a rig is not available.
WVAS relies on reimbursement from Medicaid/Medicare as well as a set amount from the Town. Neither of the revenue sources can keep up with costs.
The Committee has presented three scenarios for EMS services in Williamson: continue the contract with WVAS, merge with an adjoining agency (OVES), or cede coverage to Wayne County EMS.
Governance and operational improvements at WVAS have taken place in terms of new bylaws and 501c3 approval which opens up opportunities for grants and donations.
The financial impact on residents depends on several factors still in play, but the example used by the committee for the 24/7 service would be a total increase tax is $227,000 or $0.37767/$1000 assessed value. For a $200,000 assessed value home this is approximately $75 per year. The 18/7 service is approximately $45 per year.
WVAS will take 8 minutes. Many resdients at the Town Board presentation thanked the committee and reiterated that response times are crucial.
A mailer was sent out with three options for residents to consider; 24/7 service, 18/7 service, or County-Wide service. They are to return the mailer by mail or drop it off at the Town Hall.
According to the Chairman of the Evaluation Committee, Tom Watson, there is one key element missing. Although the mailer mentions “WVAS does provide faster response times” in bold in the first paragraph, those faster response times are, from 911 call to ambulance on-site, 8 minutes for WVAS and 18+minutes for County EMS. There is a presentation online.
The committee believes the cost for County to cover Williamson, a state identified “high-risk” area for EMS coverage primarily because of Rt 104, is greater than the cost for WVAS to provide the same level of service with better response times. This increased County tax support is amortized over the base of county properties and, therefore, he stated that Williamson residents won’t see the impact.
Speaking with Jim Lee, Director of EMS, Wayne County, his thoughts were with the Town. He does not want any local town-supported Ambulance Service to feel pressured to disband.
“We constantly reposition our ambulances and Paramedic fly cars to do our best to cover all areas of the county at all times, to the extent possible.
For areas that have another home (local) agency, if the agency doesn’t always have a full crew on duty, we try to have both an ambulance and a Paramedic fly car nearby already, due to the changing status of their crews, so there would be no additional cost to the County unless a need was identified for an additional ambulance.
For the first six months of this year, we have been dispatched into Williamson on 50% of their calls (49.9%, to be exact), so we’re responding to many calls in Williamson now. Regardless of their decision, we will continue to respond to Williamson when needed, providing either Paramedic services, crew completion services from fly cars, or ambulance service,” said Lee.
It is the hope of the Evaluation Committee that the Town Board will make a decision at its next meeting on whether it will continue the contract with WVAS or not.
