By Chloe Forbes
The Meadville Tribune
ERIE, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s emergency management services (EMS) professionals respond to more than 2.2 million calls a year, providing critical and timely care for residents. Part of what makes that work possible is investment from the state.
On Monday, Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen stopped by Erie’s EmergyCare EMS Agency — which provides service to Crawford County in places such as Titusville, Spartansburg, Centerville, Canadohta Lake and Townville — to highlight the investments of about $56 million from the Shapiro administration over the past three years.
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“To provide quality emergency care to Pennsylvanians, EMS professionals must be given the support and tools they need,” Bogen said.
As part of the visit, Emergency Medical Management Cooperative West (EMMCO West) regional council staff demonstrated the new tools they purchased for the region using the latest round of state funding. EMMCO West’s region covers more than 100 agencies, including Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango and Warren counties.
This round of funding, the main benefit to Meadville Central Fire Department was video laryngoscopes, which were part of the demonstrated.
“These pieces of equipment allow for an often better airway for patients that need intubated and allows us to have a better direct visualization when performing the innovation, especially in a moving vehicle,” said Chief Evan Kardosh, who attended the visit in Erie.
Currently, not all Meadville apparatus are equipped with the equipment, but in those that do, it gives the EMS workers another level of advanced care to make sure they’re proving citizens with the best equipment possible in an emergency situation.
EMMCO West was also able to purchase patient lifting equipment meant to improve care and efficiency while reducing EMS staff injuries.
“These tools are not just equipment,” said EMMCO West Operations Manager Daryl Parker. “They are retention strategies that help us preserve the workforce we already have while we continue to recur the next generation. Ultimately, this investment strengthens both patient care and provider sustainability, which is exactly what our communities are counting on.”
The Department of Health also launched a three-year tuition assistance program in 2024, helping EMS agencies retain the appropriate number of staff to successfully respond to residents’ calls for medical assistance. Individuals who earn an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) or Paramedic certification can be provided up to $5,000 in tuition reimbursement tuition.
EMS agencies are eligible to receive up to $5,000 in reimbursement per fiscal year for expenses related to recruitment and retention efforts.
Meadville Central Fire takes full advantage of opportunities that EMMCO and the Department of Health have, but Kardosh said that a lot of funding opportunities are not as frequent. He said that the increased funding proposed for the 2026-27 budget — an extra $6 million to the EMS Operating Fund — could help them invest in newer or upgraded equipment. However, there are many EMS organizations trying to benefit from a small pool of accessible funds.
That’s especially true as the cost of readiness for EMS agencies is not getting any cheaper.
“As costs of operation continue to rise, especially with increased fuel costs, it’s harder to take away from operational costs and dedicate that money towards additional or upgraded equipment, so it’s a huge benefit for our department and our community,” Kardosh said. “Anytime we can receive funds that go towards replacing equipment or upgrading our equipment cache, it may allow us to take equipment costs and use for areas like training.”
This comes as the Crawford County commissioners have recently toured local fire and EMS agencies to raise awareness about a tax credit available to volunteers and listen to the needs of area agencies in hopes of providing some relief.
At a commissioners meeting last week, Chairman Eric Henry said that departments are doing more with less and praised agencies for their continued dedication to serving the community.
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