The Saratoga Springs Fire Department will again this year provide COVID-related vaccines and booster shots to county residents. This occurs under a contract with Saratoga County. The Saratoga Springs City Council approved the contract at their meeting March 5.
Under the agreement, the Saratoga Springs Fire Department will administer vaccines to eligible county residents who are considered “homebound,” or those unable to travel to a point of distribution site. The fire department will use ambulances and their emergency medical services to reach residents.
“The contract is a renewal of last year’s contract for the same type of services,” said Saratoga County EMS Coordinator Mike McEvoy. “Last year, our ambulances delivered over 4,000 COVID vaccinations to homebound and underserved people. The fire department was instrumental in servicing the needs of residents in the city.”
“It’s fairly simple on our end,” a Saratoga County Public Health Official said about the program’s implementation. “We get the name and send it through to EMS.”
The contract ensures that all manner of public safety programs be accounted for, including the fire department, to follow all local ordinances, and that all Emergency Medical Technicians be properly certified or licensed.
The contract also requires the distribution of vaccines to be done under the “medical supervision” of a licensed physician, who would otherwise be supervising a vaccination site.
At the city council meeting, Saratoga Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino re-emphasized a “need for EMS to distribute vaccines and boosters to those who cannot visit a ‘POD,’ point-of-distribution site.”
Saratoga County will pay the Saratoga Springs Fire Department as a “contractor,” with rates billed in half-hour increments. These are the rates established in the contract:
- Paramedic ambulance with two-person crew: $150 per hour.
- EMT ambulance with 2-person crew: $125 per hour.
- Paramedic fly car with 1-person crew: $75 per hour.
- EMT fly car with 1-person crew: $55 per hour.