|
Tug Hill Commission Updates Ambulance Issues in
Rural NYS Issue Paper
Published: August 18, 2024
at 02:30 p.m.
By: Press Release from NYS Tug Hill Commission
Ambulance Issues in Rural NYS Issue Paper
Updated
WATERTOWN, NEW
YORK – The Tug Hill Commission recently updated its Ambulance Issues
in Rural New York State issue paper,
available on the commission website at tughill.org/publications/technical-issue-papers/. Rising costs,
lack of staffing and declining volunteerism continues to affect the
provision of emergency response to rural NY residents. Most recently in the
Tug Hill region, the North Shore Ambulance Service closed its door
unexpectedly in July 2024. A July 25, 2024
Facebook post from the ambulance service sums it up well. “North Shore
Ambulance has struggled with declining or stagnant reimbursement rates,
direct-to-patient insurance payments without remittance, increased
operational costs, increased payroll expenses, and insufficient funding.
Despite our best efforts to secure additional resources and support and
attempts to venture into new markets to increase revenue, these challenges
have ultimately made it unsustainable to continue our operations.” Without
concerted effort on various fronts to address these challenges, emergency
response times in rural areas will continue to increase, putting the health
of rural residents at risk.
Commission
Executive Director Katie Malinowski said, “This report is intended to
increase the understanding and awareness of how emergency medical services
are provided and the issues and policies being discussed across the state.
Thank you to all the organizations and individuals providing emergency
medical services, and thank you to our statewide
partners that are working to improve the way this critically important
service is provided.”
New York State
Association of Counties Executive Director Stephen Acquario
said, “The dire picture painted by this report reinforces what we’ve seen
and heard from many counties across the state: that rising costs, stagnant
reimbursements, and declining volunteerism are driving up response times
and forcing many local EMS providers to cease operations. Every New Yorker
should be able to count on fast and reliable EMS service in an emergency situation, which is why this year, counties
worked with EMS advocates and state lawmakers to craft the “Rescue EMS”
package of legislation to address many of the challenges raised in this
report. Counties commend the Tug Hill Commission for shining a light on the
crisis facing many of New York’s rural EMS providers and look forward to
working with them and other stakeholders to strengthen this essential
service.”
“The Association
of Towns appreciates and supports the important work the New York State Tug
Hill Commission took in researching this topic. It goes without saying the
benefits a strong contingent of skilled first responders can bring to rural
New Yorkers, and AOT supports measures that will thoughtfully attract and
retain volunteers and assist municipalities in defraying the costs of
providing this extremely vital service,” commented Association of Towns of
the State of New York Executive Director Christopher Koetzle.
Mark Deavers,
Vice President of the NYS Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Association stated
that "providing emergency medical response in rural areas is a
rewarding yet challenging service to provide. As the gap between costs of providing service and the amount collected
through Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and personal payments widens,
ambulances struggle to balance the books. Decreasing volunteerism,
increasing hourly rates for paid EMTs, shortage of qualified workers, and
increasing requirements for equipment and training are combining to cause
severe financial stress to ambulances across rural New York. Growing the
understanding and partnerships with towns, villages, counties, BOCES and
others is key to keeping emergency services affordable and effective."
###
The New York
State Tug Hill Commission is a non-regulatory state agency charged with
helping local governments, organizations, and citizens shape the future of
the region, especially its environment and economy. The commission uses a
grassroots approach to build local capacity and provide technical
assistance in land use planning, community development, and natural
resource management.
|
