{"id":32153,"date":"2018-05-03T13:48:03","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T17:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=32153"},"modified":"2018-05-04T10:32:17","modified_gmt":"2018-05-04T14:32:17","slug":"community-emergency-corps-providing-ambulance-service-for-more-than-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/05\/community-emergency-corps-providing-ambulance-service-for-more-than-50-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Emergency Corps: Providing Ambulance Service For More Than 50 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Bill Smith, right, Community Emergency Corps director of operations, poses with Tim Thomas, assistant chief, and EMT Jaqueline Bryant at the corps Ballston Spa facility.
\u00a92018 Saratoga Photographer.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan E. Campbell<\/p>\n

Imagine calling for an ambulance and wondering when it will arrive, if at all. Yet that was the reality for first response some 50 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach township had different response territories, and it could take a long time for an ambulance to get from one end of a territory to another,\u201d said William Smith, a recently retired career firefighter and chief of operations for Community Emergency Corps based in Ballston Spa.<\/p>\n

Community Emergency Corps is a nonprofit organization Smith has been a member of since 1998. Founded in 1966 by a group of concerned citizens, it provides emergency transport for the Village of Ballston Spa, Milton, the northern part of Ballston, and Middle Grove, an abutting section of Greenfield.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the early years of the 50-plus year old corps, Smith said if an ambulance didn\u2019t answer a call within 18 minutes, another would be called and there could be another 18-minute wait. But calls in Saratoga County today are dispatched centrally with the help of modern communications technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaiting for 30 minutes was no longer an option,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

Back then all personnel were unpaid. By 1997 the corps was \u201cstruggling for volunteers,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cWith both the husband and wife working to bring money into the household, our volunteers had less time to dedicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The struggle continues today as Smith, as chief, looks to supplement the few paid staffers with volunteers. It\u2019s a struggle shared by most communities and the main reason ambulance companies in the area have gone out of business.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaratoga, Schuylerville, Mechanicville and Stillwater ambulances have all closed because of lack of volunteers and the high cost of paid staff,\u201d he said. \u201cGalway takes 300 to 400 calls a year, but cannot provide for all the residents, so it is on the cusp of closure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The solution has been merger. Smith said his agency will likely absorb Galway. By incorporating in this way, the local ambulance services can cover the community more quickly thoroughly.<\/p>\n

Smith said Community Emergency Corps is a member of the Saratoga County emergency medical services. The chief officers of each agency meet monthly to talk about calls they have gone through and what they could have done better. They also talk about such issues as economies of scale through bulk purchases, billing problems, negotiating prices and legal concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all benefit by sharing our experiences with one another,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is important to all emergency services to have a voice and give input as to what works and what we need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community Emergency Corps has two paid EMS crews on call all day, all year. There are\u00a0 <\/span>four ambulances and three flag cars. There is always at least two staff on call with one as backup.<\/p>\n

Smith is the one who schedules all four EMTs and 36 paramedics on the roster. He is in charge of hiring staff, ordering supplies and medicine, and all operations from the time the call comes in until the ambulance arrives at the hospital. But \u201cthe man with the checkbook,\u201d he said, is the executive director Ray Otten.<\/p>\n

An ambulance can cost $125,000 to $200,000. Smith said the agency has a $40,000 cardiac monitor in each vehicle. It was the first ambulance corps in the area to install a $45,000 automatic lift load system so emergency personnel don\u2019t injure their backs lifting patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system pays for itself,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe are all self-insured through the county and it costs us if someone gets hurt. So an automatic lift saves money in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bills for services provided are usually reimbursed under an individual\u2019s insurance plan, yet the corps receives only a small portion of the amount invoiced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recoup what we can, but don\u2019t send out for collection,\u201d said Smith. \u201cThose payments offset payroll, but town budgets handle equipment purchases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community Emergency Corps reaches out to the community in other ways. The agency joins local fire departments in running the annual Toys for Tots fundraiser, helping with publicity and setting up drop boxes.\u00a0Volunteers go to EMS Week at local schools and tell young people how an ambulance service works.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe offer career internship exploration with the high school, which offers course credit for ride-alongs in our emergency vehicles,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s daughter was the first student in this program and she demonstrated that she had it in her to work in emergency medicine. She now works in Intensive Care at Samaritan Hospital in Troy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHer interest would not have peaked if she hadn\u2019t done that course,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Volunteering has changed over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere used to be requirements for all volunteers like having to work one weekend a month or obtaining a certification,\u201d for which Community Emergency Corps offers on-site source instruction, he said. \u201cToday we ask for what you can give. Maybe it\u2019s just two hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also an active call for volunteer board members to help oversee finances.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome bankers have helped in the past. Others might like to help with public relations,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Last year volunteers did a bicycle helmet give-away during the school health fair. They custom fit and educated young people about bike safety and brain injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a job for everybody who volunteers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis type of business is different from a financial standpoint in that everybody here has another job. There\u2019s no retirement plan and long, hard hours away from the family,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t think the public knows how hard the EMS works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, with early detection of illnesses and cardiac issues, plus the advancement of defibrillator units, more advanced training for emergency responders meant more time involved for volunteers. Advancing to a paramedic level ambulance service has greatly enhanced how patients can be treated.<\/p>\n

In 2017, Community Emergency Corps responded to 2,540 calls for assistance.<\/p>\n

Visit communityemergencycorps.org\u00a0for an audio history of the organization and information about volunteering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan E. Campbell Imagine calling for an ambulance and wondering when it will arrive, if at all. Yet that was the reality for first response some 50 years ago. \u201cEach township had different response territories, and it could take a long time for an ambulance to get from one end of a territory to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nCommunity Emergency Corps: Providing Ambulance Service For More Than 50 Years - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/05\/community-emergency-corps-providing-ambulance-service-for-more-than-50-years\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Community Emergency Corps: Providing Ambulance Service For More Than 50 Years - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan E. Campbell Imagine calling for an ambulance and wondering when it will arrive, if at all. 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