It’s clear the quality and costs of Bethlehem’s emergency services is on the mind of town leaders, but what’s less certain is what can be done to improve matters.
Members of the town’s Transitional Committee, formed by new Bethlehem Supervisor John Clarkson, took up police and public safety matters at a Tuesday Jan. 17, meeting. After Emergency Service Coordinator Jack Brennan explained the number of fire and ambulance districts within the town, members of the Transitional Committee wondered if residents were getting the same level of care during emergency situations.
Brennan said that question had been raised in the past.
“The Bethlehem Ambulance District was born by the town to deal with any issues of the ambulance corps and the county sheriff within the town,” he said. “To answer your question, the level of care was not equal or seemed to be not equal, with basic life services being offered by Bethlehem Ambulance.”
Brennan explained to the committee that of the town’s four emergency medical services providers, only two provide advanced services with trained paramedics: the Albany County Sheriff’s Office and the Delmar Volunteer Ambulance Service. The Bethlehem Volunteer Ambulance Service and the Western Turnpike Rescue Squad provide only basic medical services, which includes transportation.
The town contracts with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office for their services at a cost of nearly $760,000 a year. All other providers have their own tax levies and budgets, with the difference made up by either insurers or the persons in need of medical attention.
“It was seen that the level of care might be a bit better in Delmar than in the outer areas,” Brennan said.
Committee members asked what determined the districts for both fire and emergency medical services and Brennan said tradition has been the main deciding factor.
Members also wondered if the fiscal situation of each district contributed to the inequality of services, and Brennan said that’s what the District Board of Ambulance Commissioners is attempting to figure out.
Ambulance Board Chairman George Lenhardt, who is also the Town’s newest board member and a member of the Transition Committee, said the board is currently in the process of gathering information and statistics about the quality and uniformity of care between the districts.
“We’re looking at the statistics and will make recommendations to the board when we have appropriate numbers to testify our recommendations,” said Lenhardt. “We’re also looking in to the financial aspects and attempting to get the number together to make recommendations on the possibilities to rearrange how things are done now, but we need more information.”
Clarkson said he is glad the Committee and soon the Town Board is looking at the different levels of services, and added that it is critically important to look at quality as well as cost.
“I heard of this issue before from the meetings I attended and am continuing to pursue it,” he said. “We want the best possible care for all of our residents.”
Clarkson said the town is looking into changing the contracts with the ambulance districts that will allow them to bill insurance companies at a higher rate when providing advanced life support service for a direct savings to the town.
In addition, committee members questioned the number of responders to medical situations, including the police, fire, paramedics and EMTs, and if costs could be lowered by cutting back on the number of first responders rushing to a situation.
Police Chief Louis Corsi said since the department handles all 911 calls, often officers are the first ones on the scene and those few minutes can mean life or death for patients with certain conditions. Certain cars carry defibulators and officers are trained to use them. A patrol is also sent in most cases to make sure criminal activity has not taken place.
“We do have to look over costs, but when looking at emergency situations sometimes redundancy is a good thing,” said Clarkson in an interview after the meeting.
The supervisor said he would like to eventually see a study done between the ambulance districts similar to the Collaborative Planning Task Force Report commissioned by the town’s fire districts to identify potential shared services and cost-saving measures.
That report suggested the town’s five fire departments make various changes to save costs, including possibly consolidating departments.
“I think (the report) provides a good roadmap to make sure the districts are cost effective,” he said. “I’m thankful for the study, but it didn’t address EMS and it is also more of a long-term plan. We may need to find some faster solutions.”
