By Doug La Rocque
The special meeting of the Grafton Town Board last Saturday was called by Town Supervisor Ingrid Gundrum to consider a proposal to purchase a new ambulance for the Grafton Rescue Squad, but turned into a sometimes intense discussion about the future of the Rescue Squad and just what would be the best way to provide emergency medical services to the town.[private]
Last Fall, then Supervisor Frank Higgins announced the Town had been awarded a $150,000 grant for the purchase of a new ambulance. The current vehicle is on its second transmission and has electrical problems in the back.
Rescue Squad Captain Joe Allain said it is safe to drive, but he was not sure for how long. He said the grant money has been approved and it will arrive at some point, burt Allain was not sure howlong it will take for the State bureaucracy to actually cut a check. In the meantime, he is asking the Board to proceed with the purchase of a new ambulance or to consider leasing one. Leasing would allow the Town to make smaller payments while awaiting the grant money, with the option of a one-year buyout or the purchase of the vehicle after five or seven years for one dollar. It was here that some contention arose.
Future Of Rescue
Squad In Doubt
Town resident Connie Alderman questioned the wisdom of such a purchase, citing a number of times when the Rescue Squad could not respond for lack of personnel. One time in particular was when her mother needed emergency medical assistance and transport to a hospital. Allain admits that through April, they had 44 calls, but 11 times they were unable to respond and had to rely on mutual aid or a paid service from Troy. This is not just a problem for Grafton, but for all of Eastern Rensselaer County. The Eagle Mills ambulance folded many years ago, recently followed by Poestenkill and since the beginning of 2016, by Johnsonville.
The problem of keeping enough volunteers to assure that the ambulance can roll and the extensive training requirements for EMTs, was the subject of an article in this newspaper last Fall.
Another question put to the Board was where would the money come from until the grant money arrives. There currently is not a budget line for such a purchase. Supervisor Gundrum indicated that perhaps it might come from the unexpended fund balance.
Captain Allain presented the Board with a packet, which included some options. He said the Rescue Squad is here to stay, but the present reliance on an all-volunteers crew may not be. He noted that many neighboring ambulance corps have gone to a mixture of both paid and volunteer personnel. He described a model now being used by the Town of Pittstown. There the Town is contributing money to the emergency corps to staff the ambulance with Emergency Medical Technicians during daytime hours, when the availability of volunteers is at its lowest. Some of this money is recouped by the emergency corps billing private insurance and co-pays. Allain said that if Grafton were to adopt such a model, it would add $84,000 to the ambulance budget. This would translate to $4.60 more in taxes per one thousand dollars of assessed valuation (not full value) of a piece of property. An assessment of $100,000 would mean a tax hike of $46.
As far a billing goes, Grafton began that practice last year. Allain said that has generated about $20,000 which they might be able to contribute to the cost of a new vehicle. Currently the town is budgeted to contribute $17,700 to the Rescue Squad in 2016.
Allain was asked if several area ambulances combined their services, would it help solve the problem. He said Grafton and Petersburgh currently try when possible to help staff each other on calls, but it doesn’t always work out. As far as merging the two operations, he said that has not yet met with acceptance. He points out that another difficulty is that both the Berlin and Stephentown ambulances are fire department owned, and not private organizations. Hoosick has already gone to a combination of paid and volunteer staffing. As to simply dissolving the Rescue Squad, Allain points out that doesn’t work either. The paid services housed in Brunswick and Troy are committed to coverage in those areas, and not always available to respond to Grafton.
The crux of the meeting was that, not for a lack of effort and dedication on the part of the Rescue Squad members, it is no longer a guarantee in Grafton or the Taconic Valley, that a rapid response by your local ambulance is always forthcoming. Speaking with The Eastwick Press after the meeting, Supervisor Gundrum called it “a real eye opener.” Whether or not the town decides to buy a new ambulance, “there are some cold hard facts the Board needs to digest, and consider what sort of remedies to the problem might work best.” As a whole, the Board sees it has become a major concern, and let it be known they would be glad to hear more public input. [/private]