PLEASANT MOUNT, Pa. — Pleasant Mount Emergency Services is scheduled to close at the end of September, ending local ambulance coverage provided by volunteers near Union Dale.
Department officials said rural EMS agencies often struggle to secure funding and recruit younger volunteers. The service has too few calls to support a paid staff but too many for its limited volunteer crew, WNEP reported.
| EMS ONE-STOP: AAA’s Shawn Baird on why EMS can’t afford to sit out the reimbursement fight
Lieutenant Joe Bachtel and Captain Dave Magliacane, both in their 70s, respond to about 90% of calls because of the shortage of younger volunteers. PMES handled 332 calls last year across its 92-square-mile service area and beyond.
“We are responding to other communities,” Bachtel said. “Happy to do it, but it drives our call volume through the roof.”
Nearby ambulance services will provide short-term coverage for the area’s 2,500 residents while local officials develop a regional agreement for one provider to serve multiple municipalities.
