SHERBURNE – Options for improving the Village of Sherburne’s Emergency Medical System are being examined, and in the future, the village may even look at including some paid employees.
EMS Chief Jay Symonds attended September’s meeting of the Village Board to discuss options for the future of the department. Alternatives have been in discussion for approximately 10 years, he explained after the meeting.
“It’s a regular problem for most EMS systems to get volunteers,” Symonds said. “As people get busier schedules and state requirements for emergency services get more stringent, it becomes harder and harder to find enough volunteers to cover the calls.”
Sherburne has relied heavily on mutual aid to help cover calls during the daytime hours when less paramedics are in service. Symonds explained that ambulances from Norwich, where the the department is paid, are often called to cover the area.
Symonds told the board about different options available that would make the department a self-sufficient service with coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “We had a meeting with the fire department to plan how we’d like to see this go. We threw out a couple different options,” he told the board.
The option the group favored at the end of the meeting was creating a surge service municipal system. The system would require mostly paperwork changes, but would allow the village to bill for ambulance recovery fees. Symonds explained the system would allow the emergency services department to bill insurance companies for the services provided. Village residents would not have to pay any out of pocket costs, however non-residents would be expected to pay what their insurance didn’t cover.
“It would probably be a year to a year and a half before we could have a paid medic to cover the off hours,” Symonds said. Volunteers are generally available from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., however few are available during day time hours.
“We would like to see it become a self-sufficient fund. It would greatly reduce the burden to the current tax base,” Symonds said.
Mayor William Acee asked Symonds about another option that would require the department to be set up as a not-for-profit agency. Municipalities in Oneida and Cazenovia are currently using the not-for-profit method.
Symonds said setting up that type of system is more difficult because of requirements like setting up a board of directors to oversee the agency. “There would be more control, more oversight,” Acee said of the not-for-profit option. “I’d like to do more homework, and see what we come up with.” The mayor said he wants to look at both options side by side before a decision is made.
“So far we’ve been relying on CMT (Cooperstown Medical Transit). They only have one rig in Norwich and that is mainly used for transports. When they are not available, we’re relying on Norwich. This does need to be addressed,” Symonds said.
Acee said the issue will be discussed again at the Oct. 20 village meeting.