Westwood squad needs daytime volunteers
By Deena Yellin
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
Copyright 2006 North Jersey Media Group Inc.,
All Rights Reserved
WESTWOOD — Call 911: There’s a shortage of emergency medical personnel in the borough.
A decline in volunteers has led to trouble responding to daytime calls by the Westwood Volunteer Ambulance Corps, local officials say.
Westwood corps leaders urged municipal leaders at a recent council meeting to help them recruit more volunteers.
Corps leaders say they are concerned because the group has only 22 active daytime members, compared with 56 a decade ago. The corps serves a population of 12,000 Westwood residents, but depends on aid from surrounding towns, including Hillsdale, Emerson, Township of Washington and River Vale.
“We’re having trouble recruiting people from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. We’re fighting two-income families who are too busy to do this,” said Bob Stamatopoulos, president of the Westwood corps. “There’s also a 120-hour certification course that’s required every three years and that discourages some people.”
“If the crisis continues, a paid daytime corps could be the borough’s only solution,” he said.
Councilman Peter Grefrath said the council also is concerned, and plans to discuss in January what can be done to help the corps attract more volunteers. “The council is going to support anything that can be done to get more volunteers,” he said.
As more and more towns across New Jersey encounter problems staffing their ambulance squads, “It seems that there’s a trend toward paying for ambulance services,” Grefrath said.
“There’s no question that a paid service would be expensive,” he said, noting that such a service could cost as much as $300,000 annually.
The shortage is real and a rising concern to most communities, said Mayor Thomas Wanner. “This year, we actually added funding to try marketing the need for volunteers,” Wanner said. “Unfortunately, the lives of many residents are so burdened on meeting the many needs of family that there is little time to give to other concerns.”
This year, the Westwood corps has been able to respond to only 330 of its 827 emergency calls. The remaining calls were answered by emergency teams from neighboring towns. In 2000, the Westwood corps responded to twice the number of calls as it did this year, officials said.
Stamatopoulos said he asked the council to allow borough employees who are emergency medical technicians to leave their posts during the day to take emergency calls. He also requested that the council give hiring preference to candidates who have EMT qualifications. Council members said they would consider both requests.
The corps is advertising for volunteers in restaurants, local newspapers and on banners.
The shortage of volunteers is not severe during the nighttime hours, when many members are home from their daytime jobs and able to respond to emergency calls.
“I enjoy it,” said Stamatopoulos about his volunteer work on the corps. “It’s a great community service. I help a lot of people and they are very grateful.”
“Now we need help.”