Jun. 1—Niagara County has a temporary provider in place to assist existing ambulance services.

At its May meeting, the Niagara County Legislature authorized a contact for emergency medical services with Mercy Flight EMS, not to exceed $593,850, for the period June 1 through Oct. 31, 2023. The resolution states the county will tap its Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to cover the cost.

The agreement provides two ambulances manned by Mercy Flight EMS workers at a cost of $2,775 per day, with revenue generated from these transports expected to reduce that amount.

County Emergency Services Director Jonathan Schultz and County Manger Richard Updegrove both said this would not be a takeover of existing services, but an effort to get more EMS service workers out there. The ambulances will arrive by June 15.

Most existing EMS service in the county is provided through volunteer ambulance and fire companies.

"Most of their volunteers work during the day, when it's hardest to get ambulances out," Schultz said.

Updegrove said as volunteer EMS providers are already experiencing high call volumes, Eastern Niagara Hospital announced it's closing on June 17 and county officials were concerned about the impacts on first response.

"Mercy Flight has the equipment and manpower to dedicate ambulances to Niagara County during periods of high-call volume," Updegrove said.

In mid May, Catholic Health announced it will operate a temporary freestanding emergency department, with ambulance accommodation, at Eastern Niagara Express Care on South Transit Road, while construction of the new Lockport Memorial Hospital continues. Express Care, ENH's urgent care facility, is being taken over by Catholic Health as ENH is dissolved.

The county legislature also awarded a contract, in April, to Dr. John McNamara of UB|MD Emergency Medicine to serve as county emergency services medical director and oversee the county ambulance effort; McNamara's compensation is not to exceed $19,900. UB|MD Emergency Medicine has been working with the Center for Governmental Research to examine Niagara County's role in assisting ambulance and EMS services, with a goal of providing long-term, stable, and efficient services to the public. It is expected to deliver a report to the county later this year.

In June 2022, the legislature agreed to put county employees in two ambulances to supplement existing services. Declining EMS volunteerism has been an issue for at least the past decade, and the problem has grown post-pandemic due to volunteer fire companies losing members.

Putting the supplemental plan into action was a lengthy process that involved acquiring equipment and figuring out how best to implement service, Schultz said.

Mercy Flight previously was in talks to cover the City of Lockport, after Twin City Ambulance announced last fall that it would stop servicing the city. Instead, the city council authorized Lockport Fire Department to staff and run ambulances. Since Feb. 14, LFD has fielded 1,600 calls in the city.

In light of its hiring of Mercy Flight EMS, Common Council President Paul Beakman suggested the legislature squandered its opportunity to install a similar government-run ambulance service.

"Some officials in Lockport had common sense and understanding of what the community's needs are. Clearly, county legislators do not," he said.