Bay Ridge Rescue Squad Inc. and North Queensbury Volunteer Rescue Squad Inc. have signed a contract that will allow the two companies to work together more closely, and more like one entity from June 1 through the end of the year. Since the companies also have separate contracts with the town, the Town Board set a public hearing on the new contract for the May 16.
If all goes as planned, the town board will listen and then vote on the contract during the board meeting May 16.
“They’re going to come up, between the two of them, with better coverage than the two [squads] could do," Town Supervisor John Strough said during the town board meeting Monday May 2. "This required cooperation. It required guts. It required taking a look at the way things have been, and trying something new.”
Ward 4 Councilor Tim McNulty said: “There’s going to be times here in Queensbury where we’re going to have five EMS [units] with an ALS [staff] on it, which has not happened before.” ALS is Advanced Life Support, a designation requiring advanced training for staff. Those staff can handle more difficult medical emergencies than Basic Life Support staff.
A press release from the two companies says a transition team has been created that will work toward completing the consolidation of the two companies by January 1, 2023.
[Read more about the potential merger here.]
“Once completed, we will have formed a better structured and more efficient organization that will be able to handle the ever changing issues in EMS and the continuation of providing exceptional patient care to the residents of the Town of Queensbury,” the release said.
“We’re all on board…It’s just an opportunity whose time has come,” said Todd Mahony, the spokesperson for the North Queensbury Rescue Squad and president of the North Queensbury Fire Department, a separate organization.
The contract states that North Queensbury will pay $235,500 to Bay Ridge to cover paid staffing. For operating expenses and insurance, North Queenbury will pay $54,500, and $14,600 for debt service, a total of $304,600, Strough said.
The contract says that Bay Ridge will provide paid EMS staff to work out of the North Queensbury station. This will include Advanced Life Support personnel 24 hours a day and Basic Life Support personnel for 18 hours a day.
As a mostly-volunteer organization, North Queensbury has had trouble finding volunteers. Officials on all sides have also said the time required to gain or maintain training is an impediment to volunteerism.
Although Bay Ridge will handle the paid staffing, both squads will be involved with hiring, scheduling and other issues.
Lisa Munzenmaier, the interim vice president of the North Queensbury squad, an EMT and volunteer for three years, said the two teams are working well together. Change can be hard, especially for long-term volunteers, but she said the focus is on success in the community, for the north Queensbury community and the town as a whole.
“If we can bring forces together so we can make it work for both, that’s good," she said.
Both McNulty and Ward 2 Councilor Harrison Freer said the town is not intentionally moving away from volunteers, at least not quickly. Whether consolidation eventually changes all emergency staff into town employees remains to be seen, both Freer and McNulty said. They are not pushing for that change now.
The town pays three nonprofit emergency squads to respond to 911 calls and other emergencies. West Glens Falls Emergency Squad is the third squad and not part of the merger contract.
The efficiencies gained by consolidating staff will include better scheduling and training for all involved, McNulty said after the town board meeting. The whole discussion of how to handle the three separate companies that serve Queensbury has forced the town to raise the hourly rates of the paid personnel, McNulty said, something just three months ago he did not expect to see. He gave credit to Strough, the squads and the toawn board.
“It’s going to allow us to retain trained personnel," McNulty said. “This is a win not just for north Queensbury but for all of Queensbury."