Campion Ambulance to be sold

Trinty Health of New England expected to buy entire service

TORRINGTON — Campion Ambulance, which has served the city since 1985, is expected to be sold to a multi-state health care system early next year, according to the two companies involved in the transaction.

Under a proposal presented to the Board of Public Safety on Wednesday, Trinity Health of New England Corporation, an affiliate of a Michigan-based health care group, would buy Campion, and “its entire ambulance service business...,” according to a memo from its law firm.

President and CEO William Campion Jr. told the board that after the sale, his company will continue its ambulance service in the city, but as part of the Trinity group.

An asset purchase agreement was completed, and the sale is expected to close within 60 days, according to an Oct. 4 memo from the law firm of Moore Leonhardt & Associates LLC of Hartford.

The ownership transfer must still be approved by the state Office of Emergency Medical Services, Mayor Elinor Carbone told the board during its meeting.

William Campion met with Carbone in late November to discuss the pending sale.

“It is our intention to effectuate a seamless transition of our PSA (Primary Service Area) to Trinity Health...” he wrote in a memo.

A primary service area is geographic designation assigned by the state Department of Public Health. The system ensures a coordination of emergency medical services to minimize response times.

“(Trinity Health is) nationally certified. This will raise the bar and let us share in best practices,” Campion noted. The health care company operates hospitals in 22 states, their website notes.

“It is the first time in New England for a hospital to take a (PSA) permit,” Campion added. “(The sale) will allow our company to enhance and support critical areas with dispatch upgrades to become accredited.”

Improvement in dispatch response times is a key factor in the city’s Local Emergency Medical Services Plan, which is required by the state to be filed by every municipality, according to a draft document of the plan.

“We’re looking to tweak and shave off the reaction call time (for ambulances),” Torrington Fire Chief Peter Towey told the safety board

during its meeting Wednesday night. How 911 calls are handled is a key part of the new emergency services plan, he added.

All 911 calls are answered by Litchfield County Dispatch, based in Torrington, according to the plan, and the information is entered into a computer, which is connected to Campion Ambulance Dispatch. The response time is affected, however, by the need for the county dispatch to call the Campion office in Waterbury to provide information

on the incident. An ambulance isn’t dispatched until this third step of the response triage, officials said.

“We want to not call Waterbury, but use a radio link. We think this will work,” Towey said. “It should shake down the response time substantially, by 30 to 60 seconds per call.”

“It sounds so arcane that we’re calling Waterbury,” said board member Glenn McLeod.

The average response time by Campion in 2017 is

6 minutes and 20 seconds, according to the draft report. Those times varied, however, when all 12 months are not averaged together, from a response of 7.5 to 9 minutes.

“A very obtainable time is (to reduce) 90 seconds,” Towey told the board. “It’s a good point for our initial plans.”

The proposed purchase by Trinity “will give the city of Torrington a chance to take a little more control over the system,” Towey said.

Leslie Hutchison / Hearst Connecticut Media / Fire Chief Peter Towey, second from left, explains how the sale of Campion Ambulance Service will effect the city. At far right is Fred Rosa, northwest director of operations for Campion.