By William J. Kemble
Daily Freeman
TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. — The continuing improved response rate of Empress Emergency Medical Services ambulance coverage is being lauded by town officials. Among them was Deputy Supervisor Clayton Van Kleeck, who said his father needed an ambulance.
Van Kleeck said on Monday, Nov. 10, that having the average response times coming in significantly under the 11-minute, 59-second contracted maximum was deeply appreciated.
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“They are there in the timeframe we’re looking for,” he said. “My father had an emergency this year. We had to call an ambulance. They were there in minutes. Other people (have been) talking about that also.”
For the emergency calls in September, Empress’ two primary ambulances had an average response time of 6 minutes, 47 seconds, with the secondary vehicles averaging 7 minutes, 33 seconds.
Overall, there were 281 calls for service, but 20 were cancelled. Five calls were made for basic life support assistance, and one for advanced life support assistance.
Empress was hired to cover the towns of Ulster and Kingston beginning March 1 at a cost of $1.28 million for the remainder of 2025. Figures in a recently approved agreement will have contract amounts at $1.3 million in 2026, $1.34 million in 2027, and $1.38 million in 2028.
The September report also noted that 33 calls were to Ten Broeck Commons for Rehabilitation and Nursing, 30 to the Northeast Center for Specialized Care, and eight to the Kingston Motel, which has been used by Ulster County to shelter people in need of housing.
“I live near Ten Broeck Commons,” Van Kleeck said. “It used to be, if an ambulance went to Ten Broeck Commons, there were no more ambulances in the town. Now it’s clear that when they go to Ten Broeck Commons, there’s still an ambulance to (cover) our town.”
Before March 2025, Empress had been used by the town through a verbal agreement that centered on the ambulance service having facilities in the town as a central station. Despite the arrangement, officials reported that more than 5% of calls were turned over to other services, and in some cases, there were wait times of 40 minutes or more for some calls.
“The fire department … (and) police are very happy,” Van Kleeck said. “The report shows that they are fulfilling their commitment.”
Earlier this year, the Town Board agreed to establish a townwide ambulance district to show taxpayers the effects on the budget of having a contract for service, rather than a handshake agreement that led to the previous long waits. Van Kleeck said having reports on the service as part of the contract is important in letting residents know what the town is getting for the funding.
“It confirms that it was the right choice,” he said. “It’s a difficult thing because we don’t want to have an ambulance service of our own. … It appears we’ve done the right thing here, working with the private sector.”
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