The Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps recently announced that its plan for 2021 involves extending community-based volunteer EMS services to Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens.
In December, the RVAC submitted a formal application of area expansion with the New York City Regional Emergency Medical Services Council to provide services into those communities.
A few years ago, the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Corps lost its right to operate due to administrative troubles, according to Kevin Mahoney, RVAC board vice-chairman. Eager to resume coverage, the board of the defunct South Queens volunteer group reached out to the RVAC to partner and get back up and running under the Ridgewood banner.
“It’s easy for us to put in an expansion as opposed for them to start over as a new ambulance service,” said Mahoney.
Mahoney said the group is hoping to get the expansion on the agenda in a February NYC REMSCO meeting, when the body would vote on it. If approved, the application would then head over to the state.
The move comes after a series of successful mergers for the ambulance corps.
In 2019, RVAC, which serves parts of Brooklyn as well as Queens, incorporated the Glendale VAC and Middle Village VAC. According to a press release the group sent out, the mergers have allowed it to centralize its clinical services and operational efficiency. The three entities now serve together as one unified EMS service.
The mergers have reinvigorated the RVAC’s volunteerism and allowed a stronger response to the pandemic, it said.
4 comments:
Bless them !
Serious question. Why do volunteer ambulance services still exist in a city with paid EMS?
I understand that many, if not all of these organizations have history of starting decades ago when city ambulances couldn't be depended on, but why do they still exist now?
FDNY has the ability to stage their ambulances in the field, they aren't dependent on centralized dispatch buildings/houses like fire trucks are.
Is this just a case of the volunteer organizations becoming the status quo and people not wanted to change them?
Or, do these organizations have a continued legitimate concern regarding the FDNY's response times?
Even Little Neck and Glen Oaks, which are near LIJ and North Shore University Hospital, have their own volunteer ambulance services despite being served by both FDNY, Northwell, and Seniorcare ambulances.
@Warp if you call NYC 311 then EMS will take you to a Hospital of there choice not yours.
Volunteer ambulance service is more local and under the control of the people not the Government. In the Catskills you should see the wonderful work Volunteer services do for the Locals.
@Anonymous 2
Thank you for your answer. I just find it frustrating that the taxpayer has to pay for city EMS and is encouraged to also donate to volunteer EMS (unless they have a wealthy benefactor.) It doesn't seem financially efficient to have multiple EMS systems in the same area.
With regard to the hospital choice 'feature', in the case of the examples of Little Neck and Glen Oaks, there are no city hospitals nearby, so FDNY would most likely take patients to LIJ.
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