I have read with interest The Deerfield Valley News article regarding the Halifax Town Meeting and the rationale for an amendment presented, which now will provide $20,000 for EMS service. I assume that money will be divided in some way between the three EMS providers: Whitingham, Halifax, and Rescue Inc., of Brattleboro. Although this is not as requested, I hope it will work out.
In the same article there were reported statements regarding the prehospital care provided by the Whitingham Ambulance Service Inc. I would expect many Halifax residents at the meeting would be disturbed by the statements made at that meeting and the content of that article. WASI is a certified Intermediate Care Service with eight members with EMT certification who run calls. We also have five first responders with CPR certification who can drive the ambulance and assist on calls.
Adding to this, there are two or three Halifax EMTs who have at times supplemented our service by assisting WASI as necessary on calls. For this we are grateful. WASI volunteer personnel supplement our paid staff. When our full-time EMT is on vacation or is sick they step up, so that emergency calls do not go unanswered.
Typically an ambulance call will take WASI three to four hours to complete the call from the time of the tone until the ambulance is parked and restocked. That is the responsibility of WASI.
Halifax First Responder Service assists us by arriving on the scene, providing initial assessment, and in many cases assisting Whitingham personnel with moving the patient from the scene to the ambulance. Typically that takes between 15 and 20 minutes. Whitingham then provides ongoing assessment and transportation to the appropriate facility. The Vermont EMS has a system of mutual aid, which is designed to provide backup in the rare case when additional personnel are needed for whatever reason.
Last year Halifax, Readsboro and Whitingham provided our agency $14,052 each, with which we paid for one full-time EMT and supplemented our volunteer coverage with compensation for nighttime and weekend calls. This policy was implemented to improve our service, and to provide continuous care at critical times. We have provided all towns with quarterly reports of calls, response time and an annual financial report of the disposition of those funds. Last year the total payroll expense was $6,800 more than what was provided by the three towns. Our total annual budget is approximately $120,000. The difference in receipts and expenditures is made up by billing insurance providers, fundraisers, and enrollment, without which we could not function. To upgrade and improve our care we have ordered a brand new ambulance and appropriate equipment for delivery this fall. The cost will be covered by WASI with no additional town assessments.
Contrary to what you may have heard at Town Meeting day, as Mark Twain would say, “The rumors of our death are greatly exaggerated.”
Sincerely yours,
Peter Madden, Treasurer
Jacksonville
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