M-TEMS Board Talks Milford Ambulance Move
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
Board member Scott Sigerfoos reviewed the decision to move the Milford ambulance to Leesburg, made at an earlier meeting and based on rising costs for operating the fleet. He called the idea of keeping a squad in Milford “an operational nightmare,” and said he doesn't “even want to make it an option going forward. It doesn't serve anybody very well.”
“On a financial and operational standpoint, it's really the only option we have,” he told the board.
The decision was announced to Milford council in a letter last month, which cited a $342,000 yearly operating loss by keeping an ambulance there. That ambulance will serve Milford, Van Buren and Jefferson townships out of the Leesburg base starting Jan. 1, 2012.
In addition, Syracuse EMS will service the northeast area of Van Buren, according to the letter.
Moving the Milford ambulance to Leesburg will give M-TEMS some budget flexibility and a spare truck at its main location if they are forced to eliminate one, Sigerfoos noted. He also said that a third of runs made by the Milford-based ambulance is to other areas, and that its 3:47 average response time to Milford calls includes both times when it's in town and returning from out-of-town calls.
Sigerfoos added that Milford will still have the second- or third-fastest response time in their system after the change.
M-TEMS board member Kyle Babcock said the decision was not made lightly. And even though the expected response time to Milford will be only two minutes longer than the current average – and at six minutes, barely half the national average for rural areas – he remarked, “You can never get there fast enough.”
“We didn't want to do this. Nobody wants to do this,” Babcock said to the board. “We would keep ambulances dotted all over the map if we could.”
No one representing Milford attended the meeting, though Sigerfoos will speak to the board during a special township meeting Aug. 22.[[In-content Ad]]
Board member Scott Sigerfoos reviewed the decision to move the Milford ambulance to Leesburg, made at an earlier meeting and based on rising costs for operating the fleet. He called the idea of keeping a squad in Milford “an operational nightmare,” and said he doesn't “even want to make it an option going forward. It doesn't serve anybody very well.”
“On a financial and operational standpoint, it's really the only option we have,” he told the board.
The decision was announced to Milford council in a letter last month, which cited a $342,000 yearly operating loss by keeping an ambulance there. That ambulance will serve Milford, Van Buren and Jefferson townships out of the Leesburg base starting Jan. 1, 2012.
In addition, Syracuse EMS will service the northeast area of Van Buren, according to the letter.
Moving the Milford ambulance to Leesburg will give M-TEMS some budget flexibility and a spare truck at its main location if they are forced to eliminate one, Sigerfoos noted. He also said that a third of runs made by the Milford-based ambulance is to other areas, and that its 3:47 average response time to Milford calls includes both times when it's in town and returning from out-of-town calls.
Sigerfoos added that Milford will still have the second- or third-fastest response time in their system after the change.
M-TEMS board member Kyle Babcock said the decision was not made lightly. And even though the expected response time to Milford will be only two minutes longer than the current average – and at six minutes, barely half the national average for rural areas – he remarked, “You can never get there fast enough.”
“We didn't want to do this. Nobody wants to do this,” Babcock said to the board. “We would keep ambulances dotted all over the map if we could.”
No one representing Milford attended the meeting, though Sigerfoos will speak to the board during a special township meeting Aug. 22.[[In-content Ad]]
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