The Ambulance Crisis In Eastern Rensco
By Doug La Rocque
There was a 1967 hit record by Jay and the Techniques called “Keep the Ball Rolling,” and that was the feeling expressed by officials from the Grafton Rescue Squad, the Petersburgh Ambulance, Grafton Town Board members and Berlin Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger. The ball in this case, is a draft plan to provide an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) staffed ambulance that would serve all three towns. It’s been talked about before, and as NYS Department of Health (DOH) Deputy Chief of Emergency Service Joseph Farrell pointed out, instead of keeping the ball rolling, the only thing that has happened until now was kicking the can down the road.
The scenario has changed, however, as the Berlin Fire Department ambulance is effectively out of service, no longer having an EMT on its duty roster. This means, according to state law, they cannot respond to a call and have to depend on either mutual aid from a surrounding town or a paid service such as Mohawk or Empire. To make matters worse, Mr. Farrell said there is a provision within the DOH regulations that threatens to pull the operating certificate of any other volunteer ambulance that responds to Berlin, since they cannot reciprocate. Grafton town councilman Jeff Wagar found this a bit astonishing, asking Mr. Farrell, what about all the students in the two schools in Berlin, let alone the residents of the town. If there is an emergency, how can we ask the school to wait 45 minutes to an hour for help. The reply from Mr. Farrell was that he cannot answer that, but he warned that his bosses are very close to making that very thing happen. He added that New York is a Home Rule state, which means it is not up to the State or Rensselaer County to come to their rescue. He also said that while state law requires every city, village and town to provide fire protection, there is no rule they must also assure their residents EMS services.
The Eastwick Press reached out to Assemblyman Jake Ashby, whose 107th District includes all these towns. He told us his office has begun to look into the entire matter, also expressing a deep concern about the lack of EMS in Berlin and how it relates to the surrounding ambulance services. He was unable to obtain an answer for us as of press time.
So What’s Berlin To Do?
According to Mr. Farrell, the Berlin Fire Department surrendered its Operating Certificate, but that surrender was rejected. It has since requested a transfer of the certificate to the Grafton Rescue Squad. Grafton’s Captain Joe Allain has proposed a plan where Grafton would staff its ambulance with two paid EMTs from 6 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday, and this ambulance would then be available to respond to Petersburgh and Berlin as well. The plan carries an approximate price tag of $102,000, which cost could be split between the three towns on a percentage basis according to population. Grafton is the largest of the three towns, followed by Berlin and then Petersburgh. There was discussion about asking Stephentown to join the consortium, which would spread the cost more widely, but it was dropped because of the distance between Grafton or Petersburgh and Stephentown.
Both Mr. Farrell and Rensselaer County Emergency Services Coordinator Jay Wilson said the plan has merit and Mr. Farrell indicated he would back it. The question is, will each of the towns support it. The Eastwick Press has spoken to three members of the Grafton Board, with Supervisor Ingrid Gundrum, Councilman Eric Buckley and Mr. Wagar, all indicating they are initially in favor. Berlin Supervisor Jaeger, whose town needs the help the most, said he will bring it before his Town Board meeting on Thursday, October 10. Mr. Jaeger also indicated his preliminary support. As to Petersburgh, its representative at the Monday, October 7 meeting held at the Grafton Town Hall, had to leave the gathering early. Dennis Smith, who is Captain of the Petersburgh Ambulance and a member of the Petersburgh Town Board, had to attend a town budget meeting. Captain Allain said when he previously broached this plan last spring, Petersburgh had indicated its support.
One of the reasons that proposals of this kind have not moved forward heretofore, according to Allain, is personalities. “This person won’t work with that person for whatever reason.” Captain Allain said, “We have to get by this if we are to solve the problem.” Councilman Wagar agreed, stating “the egos are killing us.” To which Mr. Wilson replied “we have got to check personalities at the door.”
Beside all the other reasons for acting at this time, Supervisor Jaeger noted all three towns are currently working on their 2020 budgets, and there is still time to “keep the ball rolling” and not end up once again, “kicking the can down the road.”