Lancaster Online
LANCASTER, Pa. — Colerain Township supervisors thought they might be asked to vote on which advanced life support service should cover the township. But as of their June 3 meeting, they had not received a contract or a suggested resolution from Lancaster EMS, known as LEMSA.
What the supervisors did receive was a letter from Susquehanna Valley EMS, but the letter generated more questions, which the board would like to have answered.
Supervisor Sam Reinhart was at the South End Intermunicipal Council meeting in May when Susquehanna Valley representative Mike Fitzgibbons said he was withdrawing his organization’s offer to try to continue to serve the area from its Quarryville site.
Fitzgibbons made it clear that his organization could not provide round-the-clock ALS service because the low call volume would not support it financially.
Meanwhile, LEMSA is offering 24-7 ALS service from two locations to cover the region. It proposes to move from its New Providence site to a new site in Quarryville, and then establish a second site near the Buck.
Response-time maps that LEMSA provided for the new plan do not show much improvement for Colerain, since the new unit is no closer to the township. But Colerain would have ALS service available to respond during overnight hours when Susquehanna Valley is now usually out of service.
As discussed by the supervisors, the letter from Susquehanna Valley encouraged the area municipalities to get any agreement on ALS coverage in writing. It also seemed to indicate that the ALS units would not be available at any time for non-emergency transports, plus it raised the question of whether the township would be required to provide financial contributions in exchange for ALS service at some future date.
Until the supervisors find out more, they are not going to take a vote on which ALS service they think should be covering Colerain.
“I think they would like to have something in writing, but I don’t know if we are getting anything or not,” Reinhart said.
“I would hate to vote on something with these questions here,” Supervisor Walter Todd said, adding that he believes a written agreement may be advisable. “A promise is not worth much any more if it is not signed.”
Reinhart indicated he would try to find out more information before the next township meeting on June 19. The supervisors will also be watching to see how neighboring municipalities, particularly Quarryville, handle the situation.
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