By Stephen T. Watson
The Buffalo News
TONAWANDA, N.Y. 鈥� The Town of Tonawanda plans to launch a municipal ambulance service, officials said Thursday morning.
The move is driven by frustration over how long it takes Twin City Ambulance , the private ambulance company that serves the town, to respond to emergencies, Supervisor Joseph Emminger said in an interview prior to the formal announcement.
鈥淥ur residents are not being attended to in a timely manner to get them to the hospital,鈥� Emminger told The Buffalo News. The village of Kenmore will be included in the new service.
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While there are initial startup costs, including purchasing or leasing four ambulances and hiring 20 paramedics, Tonawanda officials expect the service to eventually be a money-maker for the town, he said.
In recent years, Emminger said, Police Chief James Stauffiger and paramedic supervisor Matthew DeRose have expressed concerns about delays of an hour or more in ambulances getting to the scenes of motor vehicle crashes and other emergencies.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e got to sit with these people,鈥� Emminger said. 鈥淎nd then that means they can鈥檛 go out on other calls. It鈥檚 a problem.鈥�
This prompted the town to study whether it would make financial sense to start a municipal ambulance corps, and whether doing so would improve response times within Tonawanda.
Under the proposal being unveiled Thursday, the town would shift paramedic operations to a Department of Emergency Services that also would oversee the new ambulance service.
Robert Lutz , currently the emergency services coordinator for the town, would see his role expand from a part-time to full-time position, Emminger said.
Tonawanda now has 16 full-time paramedics, including DeRose, and would hire 20 EMTs to fill out the ranks of the ambulance service. The town also plans to hire two more full-time paramedics.
The Buffalo Common Council is considering creating the city鈥檚 own ambulance service because lawmakers are worried about the response times of American Medical Response ambulances to emergencies.
The town needs four ambulances, Emminger said, and would buy the new.
The town likely would start the service in 2025, initially with two ambulances, and ramp up to full capacity by 2026.
Emminger said the town is basing its financial projections on a conservative estimate of 5,700 yearly calls within the town requiring an ambulance response.
Now, when Twin City Ambulance responds, that company receives payment from a private insurer, Medicaid or the patients themselves.
With a municipal service, the town would receive those payments, instead, Emminger said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the reimbursement that we would get,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in the business now.鈥�
The supervisor said town ambulances would handle transports from the scene of the emergency to a hospital.
Advanced life support transports would average about $520 per call, he said, and basic life support calls would average about $475 per call.
Even with the cost of acquiring and outfitting the ambulances, hiring paramedics, taking out liability insurance and other expenses, Emminger said, the town expects revenues to exceed expenses by as much as $1 million in the first full year of operation.
The Town of Tonawanda isn鈥檛 alone in weighing the start of a municipal ambulance service.
Buffalo considers launching city ambulance service due to concerns about slow AMR responses
The Buffalo Common Council is considering creating the city鈥檚 own ambulance service because lawmakers are worried about the response times of American Medical Response ambulances to emergencies.
Buffalo lawmakers are exploring this option as they raise their own concerns about response times from American Medical Response , the ambulance company that serves the city.
Erie County purchased five ambulances as part of the launch of a backup ambulance service that would cover eight towns in rural southern Erie County , where commercial ambulance service is spotty.
And the City of Lockport , which ended municipal ambulance operations amid a financial crisis in 2014, restored the service last year.
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