Season may be ‘too healthy’ for ambulance service

By DAVID HULSE

LACKAWAXEN, PA — With new help on hand after months of pleading for assistance, ambulance volunteers in Lackawaxen now fear losing advanced-life-support services (ALS) because of the season’s unusually low call volume.

Lackawaxen Volunteer Ambulance Service president Cathy Wargo last week reported that Hurleyville, NY, based MobileMedic was in service in Pike County since late June, but that owner  Albee Bockman had expressed concern that the call volume was not what had been expected.

“It’s been a quiet summer. Everyone’s pretty healthy,” Wargo told township supervisors on July 16.

Wargo said MobileMedic has been a “big help,” having already assisted on a half-dozen ALS calls. She said her company was trying to help the new service by sharing some of their calls. “But if we’re on scene first, we load up and go,” she added.

She said the commercial ALS service is also concerned about an upcoming referendum to supplement volunteer ambulance tax support. Wargo noted that even if approved, new funding would not reach volunteers until 2005, “even if (MobileMedic) is still operating here... I have to pretend that they won’t be here,” she said.

“We can’t put all of eggs in one basket,” Supervisors chair Brian Stuart said in agreement.