WALL, N.J. — Two days before Thanksgiving, a packed Wall Township meeting ended with a 4-0 vote to disband the municipality’s professional EMS and transition to Monmouth County’s MedStar program.
The decision drew sharp criticism from residents, EMS personnel and even the township’s police chief, who questioned the transparency of the process, the Asbury Park Press reported.
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The move dissolves the Wall Township Police Department’s EMS division, created in 1999, but leaves the township’s two volunteer squads, Community and Wall, unchanged, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Under the new plan, Monmouth County MedStar will provide roaming ambulances rather than units based at a fixed station, and Township Administrator John W. Tobia told residents the county will keep at least two ambulances in Wall Township at all times.
Tobia cast the move as a financial necessity, saying the free county service will prevent a growing EMS deficit from forcing cuts in other departments, including police. He said municipal EMS cost $1.9 million in 2024 and ran an $822,000 loss last year, with losses projected to top $1 million in 2025.
Do you think moving from a municipal EMS model to a county-run system improves or hurts patient care? Why?
