Supervisors pull back on ambulance purchase
UPPER PROVIDENCE » Township supervisors voted unanimously Monday night to rescind an order for a new ambulance and to take 60 days to put together a more comprehensive plan for supporting emergency medical services.
Although the vote was unanimous, opinion on the issue has not been until recently — and despite the unanimity, it remains contentious.
It began years ago when previous board’s undertook a study of emergency services in the township, but took little action as it related to ambulance services.
The township is served primarily by ambulance services from
neighboring Trappe and Royersford.
More recently, supervisors have begun to voice concerns about ambulance response times in Upper Providence.
Since 2013, the township has seen a 20 percent increase in call volume, according to information supervisors’ Vice Chairman Albert Vagnozzi presented at the Jan. 16 meeting.
Although response times average about 10 minutes — which is considered acceptable by official standards — they are still longer than surrounding communities, according to information presented in 2016 by the Montgomery County Director of Emergency Services, Vagnozzi said.
Vagnozzi agreed that the ambulance companies are strained.
Local ambulance companies are “overworked, they’re underfunded,” he said, noting that Upper Providence Township spends $50,000 a year between the three ambulance companies that serve it — Trappe, Friendship and Lower Providence.
By contrast, Trappe Ambulance receives $5,000 from Trappe borough; Collegeville borough provides $4,000; Perkiomen Township donates $5,000, “but they provide services to Limerick Township, which doesn’t pay them a nickel, and also Phoenixville borough, doesn’t pay them a nickel,” Vagnozzi said.
But supervisors’ Chairman John Pearson said at the Jan. 16 meeting and again at the Feb. 6 meeting, that “a new ambulance would impact negatively” on the finances of the surrounding companies and strain the system.
Instead, he said, he wants a more comprehensive look at what needs to be done, if a facility needs to be built and a company hired to provide service.
“I have no intention of going at this thing haphazardly,” said Pearson. “I’d like to see your plan instead of just throwing an ambulance at it.”
“We should hire the people who are going to run the system before we buy the equipment. Hire them and provide the funding to let them buy equipment,” he Pearson said.
“We’re trying not to put a band aid on this thing, or kick the can down the road again,” Pearson said. “When we come back in two-months, we’ll have a full game plan.”
Vagnozzi said he was fine with giving the new supervisors time to get up to speed and proposed working with staff and Supervisor Helene Calci to draft the plan.
“We should hire the people who are going to run the system before we buy the equipment.” John Pearson, Upper Providence Supervisors Chairman
Local ambulance companies are “over-worked, they’re underfunded.” Albert Vagnozzi, Upper Providence Vice Chairman
“That’s a better way to handle it than two weeks ago Al,” Calci said. “I applaud the compromise.”
But others in the audience were not so happy.
Michael Fil said not only has the call volume increased, but the number of times the first ambulance dispatched to a call has been unable to respond has increased by 24 percent.
“If one person dies during these 60 days because an ambulance takes too long to respond, I will bring it back to this board,” he said, to which Pearson snapped back “you can threaten me all you want.”
Pearson also clashed with resident Kevin Holohan when he attempted to respond at length to a question Pearson evidently intended rhetorical — why had the previous board focused on building an expensive new township building instead of focusing on the EMS plan if they considered it so important.
As Holohan attempted to outline Pearson’s own role in spending on that building, Pearson finally cut him off saying to Vagnozzi “Al, do you want to call your dog off?”
“Enjoy your time on the board while you can,” Holohan shot back.