The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Plans could double ambulances on the road
Middlesex Health appealing to state for its own transport fleet
MIDDLETOWN — Middlesex Health is seeking to add 10 ambulances to its fleet to reduce response time as calls for service have increased, the fire chief said.
The health care system plans to file an application for a transport license with the Office of Emergency Medical Services. The next step will be a hearing, where personnel will testify about the need to supplement their fleet, Middlesex Health Manager of Emergency Medical Services Jim Santacroce said.
The chiefs of Middletown’s three fire departments and the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce provided letters of recommendation for the proposal.
“It will be tremendous,” Middletown Fire Chief Jay Woron said. “It would give us a greater opportunity to be on multiple medical calls at the same time.”
Middletown’s 911 calls have been served by Hunter’s Ambulance/Hartford HealthCare on Washington Street, the chief said.
In 2015, Middlesex Health purchased five ambulances, one of which is being serviced, and another stationed
in Durham that became the town’s primary source of medical transport, he said.
One of the three remaining will soon need a new siren.
“That takes us down 33 percent of what we can do,” Santacroce said.
“We want to be able to provide services without stripping other towns,” as well as increase reliability once these ambulances are in force, he explained.
Another goal is to have a reserve of back-up ambulances.
That means only three are running a day, not only for medical issues, but to transport patients out of the hospital.
It could take at least a few weeks for the application to go through the process, Santacroce said.
In April, Middletown fire responded to 800 medical emergencies, Woron said. Of these, 12 were mutual aid, two were canceled and three were sent to an accident.
When call volume often exceeds what’s available, dispatchers summon mutual aid from Cromwell, Portland or even Durham, Woron said.
“Middletown is a busy city. At any given time, there could be two, three, four medical calls,” Woron said. “There has to be the same amount of ambulances.”
Middlesex Health also serves Portland, Middlefield and surrounding towns, the chief said. The hospital provides certified EMTs.
Nearly all workers at the downtown station — 67 of 71 — are certified, he added.
The department designed a program during the height of the pandemic so designated units were able to respond solely to fires, Woron said. A trailer with two EMTs in an SUV was stationed at the Emergency Operations Center on Country Club Road.
It served a two-fold purpose: Apparatus were available to take fire calls and it kept medical personnel out of the station to prevent COVID-19 transmission among personnel, Woron said. Once the need for service waned, the EMTs were transitioned back to their normal response procedure.