By Diane Pineiro-Zucker
Daily Freeman
KINGSTON, N.Y. — Kingston Fire Department ambulances will respond to all calls in the city beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, Mayor Steve Noble said Friday.
The move replaces Empress EMS, which took over in June when it purchased Mobile Life Support Services, the company that had serviced the city until then.
Ambulance service “will be provided to all those who live, work, or visit the City of Kingston regardless of whether they have insurance or the ability to pay,” according to a press release sent by Noble and the Kingston Fire Department on Friday afternoon.
The city has “three paramedics and over 50 EMTs in the fire department, all with extensive training,” said Secretary to the Mayor Roy Verspoor in an email on Friday. He said that most calls “require a BLS (basic life support) unit and so that was generally what we saw used here in Kingston. We believe two ambulances will meet most needs here.”
In the event of a mass casualty incident “the Kingston Fire Department will respond to requests for assistance to other communities. ... We work extremely well with all of our neighbors, especially in their time of need,” Verspoor said.
He said the city is working “on a request for proposals to select an insurance billing provider.” He said the selected company “would bill the patient’s insurance company, Medicaid, Medicare, etc.” and that those revenues “would help offset the cost of this program to City residents.”
In the meantime, Verspoor said the current fire department budget “will handle any overtime costs that might arise and so no additional funding is needed until more staffing is hired.” Staffing decisions will be ongoing, he said.
The move, according to the press release, was a response to Empress’ requirement for the city to enter into a paid contract where city taxpayers would have been required to contribute between $500,000 and $1 million annually beginning Jan. 1 . In response, “the City put together a plan to provide immediate coverage while plans and discussions continue with the Common Council,” city officials said.
“It is critical that we continue to provide immediate lifesaving ambulance transport services to our residents,” Noble said in a statement. “In the last six months, the Kingston Fire Department (KFD) has responded to over 100 emergency medical calls with our own ambulance due to a lack of private ambulance availability in our City. That fact, combined with a request to enter into a six-figure contract with the private entity, forced us to look at our own resources and what type of plan we could put together to best serve our residents and visitors.”
Reached by phone Friday, Robert Stuck, executive director of Empress EMS, said his company had offered two plans to the city based on its need for expanded resources. “A city of that size, it needs its own resources just for the city that don’t go out into all of the other areas. And with that comes a price,” he said.
“Unfortunately, and we’re disappointed, they chose to use the fire department. But, as far as funding, it was time that they had to fund that system too, it’s not that they’re not paying us. They’re going to pay that same amount, we anticipate even more, to do it through the fire department,” Stuck said.
But for the most part, Stuck said, the city’s plan should meet its needs. He said Empress will continue its Cornell Street operations and, “Obviously, we had a lot more units in the area and we’re still going to have the same amount of units in the area.”
In the press release. Noble commended Kingston Fire Chief Chris Rea “and the members of the Kingston Fire Department for their willingness to work with me to get this program up and running so quickly.”
In a statement, Rea said, “The members of the Kingston Fire Department have always been there for residents who are having medical issues, arriving in approximately 3 minutes and now, with KFD assisting in ambulance transport, our residents will be able to depend on our department to help get them to life-saving care at Health Alliance Hospital .”
Common Council President Andrea Shaut said, “The focus should always be on the people. This solution ensures that residents will receive the quick attention and care they need and deserve during what is likely a vulnerable situation.” She said the Common Council “stands ready to work with the Mayor’s Office and KFD in the months ahead to guarantee this solution is the best we can offer Kingston,”
Beginning in early January, Kingston will have one Advanced Life Support (ALS) unit and one Basic Life Support Unit (BLS) operating in the city of Kingston out of Central Station. The city’s Mobile Mental Health ambulance will serve as a backup BLS unit, officials said. The Mobile Mental Health Program will continue to run Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., officials said.
In October, Noble and Rea spoke to the Kingston Common Council about the ambulance situation. Noble said “Ambulance discussions will continue with the Common Council in January and February related to additional staffing and insurance billing services for this program.”
As for Empress’ plans in Ulster County, Stuck said, “We’re still going to operate. We have a large operation in Kingston and Ulster. We’re still going to operate that. We were prepared for that one way or the other. They had access to all of those units too, now once the fire department is engaged in calls they’re still probably going to have to rely on us to back that up. ... The fire department really wanted to do it and we wish them well.”
He said the city’s move will allow Empress to expand services in other parts of Ulster County. “And, now (that we’re) not servicing the city, as the primary, we’re hoping to strengthen the other areas like the town of Ulster, Rosendale and all of the surrounding communities that also have a need. ... We’re really hopeful that now that the city is going to be kind of contained by the fire department that our services to the town of Ulster and Rosendale, that those would strengthen because a lot of times we had to pull those units because the city is so busy and now we won’t have to do that.”
In case of a medical emergency, residents and visitors to Kingston should continue to call 911 and the Kingston Fire Department will dispatched.
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