Lafayette Ambulance combines operations, administration
Edward Martin, of Montgomery Township, to oversee organization
UPPER MERION » Lafayette Ambulance and Rescue Squad of Upper Merion Township has restructured its organization to delegate both administrative and operational responsibilities to a single individual.
The dual responsibilities — executive director and chief of operations — are now in the hands of newly appointed Edward Martin Jr. Previously, two different individuals held the posts of executive director and chief of operations.
Martin is a resident of Montgomeryville and received an associate’s degree in business management from Montgomery County Community College. He was a paramedic with Central Bucks Emergency Medical Service and rose up to shift supervisor, then served as a medical supply officer at Levittown Fairless Hills Rescue Squad in Bucks County. Prior to joining Lafayette he was an EMS field specialist in the Montgomery
County Department of Public Safety for eight years.
Lafayette’s Board of Directors discussed the future of the organization, explained Martin, and concluded that a single, overall manager would best serve the future needs of both the organization and the community.
“On a day-to-day basis, there needs to be someone in the station who can handle administrative and operational matters. When you just have one person in charge of the administrative side and another in charge of operations, what do you do if a issue arises
requiring one or the other? The executive director is on hand but the volunteer chief is nowhere to be found. You can’t put the matter on the back burner. It needs to be taken care of right then and there,” explained 43-yearold Martin who is himself a licensed paramedic.
The need for unified management becomes particularly acute between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. when the population of Upper Merion Township swells to 150,000. Lafayette Ambulance is one of the 10 busiest squads in Montgomery County, answering over 3400 emergencies in the township and Bridgeport Borough. Although the calls are mostly cardiac, respiratory and other medical emergencies, there are a sizeable number of vehicle, industrial and residential rescues and hazardous material incidents. To deal with this activity, Lafayette’s two ambulances are on the road almost constantly…and here’s what likely happens, explains Martin: “I’m sitting behind my desk and the chief engineer calls me and tells me that one of the ambulances has an issue. That’s an operational matter so I tell the engineer to go ahead and fix it. To see if there are funds to take care of the matter, that’s an administrative matter. I make both decisions.
“If my pager goes off for a vehicle rescue on one of the major highways we cover and I’m the chief at the station when the call comes in, I will respond,” said Martin.
When not in the field, Martin can be is found on the first floor of the ambulance building on North Henderson Road, Monday through Friday, from, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This time period allows Martin to attend meetings outside of the station — with insurance agents, township officials and dignitaries, and members of local community organizations, all of which are administrative matters.
Another portion of Martin’s office time is spent on his computer or reading medical magazine and journals. Sometimes an article will call his attention to a particular type of medical equipment that would be useful on the ambulances.
“That’s an operational matter,” said Martin, “but to see if we can afford it — that’s an administrative issue.”