St. Marys Ambulance presented with ARPA grant
ST. MARYS - The St. Marys Area Ambulance Service recently received a $100,000 grant from the Elk County Commissioners as part of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
St. Marys Ambulance Manager Greg Gebauer stated the grant money went right to work for the organization.
“It allowed up to immediately begin the purchasing process for six new mobile cardiac monitors to replace the 15-year-old units that are nearing the end of their lifespan,” Gebauer said.
The St. Marys Area Ambulance Service was established in 1967 and has rendered over 100,000 calls for service since that time. Their annual budget is approximately $1.3 million, so the $100,000 received from the Commissioners supplemented their available funds by almost 10%. As a 501(c)3 charitable organization governed by a board of directors, they are the the primary 911 response for the City of St. Marys and the Borough of Johnsonburg. They also serve as paramedic assistants for Fox, Jay, and Benezette Townships, as well as for all of Cameron County.
“As with every other rural emergency response force, we have to face labor shortages and the constant need for new updated equipment, all while maintaining a budget,” Gebauer said. “And like every other ambulance corporation, the payments authorized by insurance carriers, Medicare, and Medicaid fall well short of our actual costs for service.”
One of the major problems facing rural ambulances is the low level of reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid patients that are transported both to local hospitals and to more extensive medical facilities like those in Pittsburgh or Danville. For some
patients, the government pays only $200 for these trips, which can cost thousands of dollars for small rural ambulance facilities.
“One way St. Marys residents can help is by purchasing a membership,” Gebauer said, “And know that anywhere they go in Elk County, from Ridgway to Fox Township to the Valley and Wilcox, we have reciprocal agreements with those ambulance companies so that patients will never get a surprise bill.” For more information on joining the St. Marys Ambulance, visit their website at stmarysambulance. com.
Money is one of the driving factors in rural healthcare, and ARPA was much needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October of 2021, the Elk County Commissioners
and their staff were pleased to announce $600,652.45 in American Rescue Plan funds was awarded to assist local fire departments, emergency management, and law enforcement agencies.
Under the March 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP), Elk County received the funding to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and its economic impacts through different categories of eligible uses, including medicallyrelated equipment and purchases and loss of revenue due to COVID-19 closures.
According to Gebauer they are still waiting for delivery of their cardiac monitors, of which three were purchased through the ARPA funding. He added that another three units were ordered through funding from a StackpoleHall Foundation Grant and a Mee Grant from the Cameron Countybased
organization.
“Our current units on each of our emergency vehicles are over 15 years old and are very hard to get parts for to repair,” Gebauer said.
Another problem facing rural ambulance services is finding adequately trained personnel and employing them at a competitive wage. Details about joining the team are also available at stmarysambulance.com.
“It’s difficult to attract trained personnel who have taken all the classes and passed all the EMT, or paramedic certification tests when Burger King and Sheetz are offering wages just below our starting wages, though we have a much better insurance plan,” Gebauer said.
One new hire from April is Assistant Manager Nick Burdick, who worked part-time as an EMT while being a full-time emergency room nurse at Penn Highlands Elk for four years.
“My family has an extensive medical background, and it was a natural fit for me to move into healthcare,” Burdick said. “I have always enjoyed providing first-response care, so when this position was opened again, I was pleased to join the St. Marys Ambulance full-time.”
The St. Marys Ambulance fleet consists of five full ambulances and one intercept unit, an SUV that can quickly be dispatched to other ambulance services with a full paramedic and more sophisticated life-saving equipment that is available from many other ambulance companies. They are often dispatched when more rural ambulance services are faced with a severe healthcare emergency and do not have the necessary equipment to transfer the patient to the hospital without some stabilization.
“It’s a tough but rewarding job,” Burdick said, “but as a nurse and even as an EMT, I never realized how little insurance companies and Medicare and Medicaid paid for our services and how much paperwork goes into getting those few dollars.”
Gebauer and Burdick are in the process of applying for funding to purchase a new ambulance to replace one of their aging vehicles, so residents who want to help are encouraged to call the ambulance at their non-emergency number (814) 781-1571 or visit their website.
The Elk County Commissioners thanked the St. Marys Ambulance crew for all their hard work providing life-saving care to the citizens of Elk County throughout the years and promised to make sure any future ARPA funding is available will be dispursed to healthcare providers like the ambulance service.