Regional EMS begins for Paupack and Palmyra townships, Hawley

Officially starting July 1, the three adjoining Wayne County municipalities of Paupack Township, Palmyra Township and Hawley Borough are being served by Pennsylvania Ambulance as their primary emergency medical services provider, with apparatus stationed in Lakeville and Hawley.

Together, the three municipal governing boards have entered an agreement with Pennsylvania Ambulance, under the entity name of PPH (Paupack - Palmyra - Hawley) Ambulance Association. Each municipality has agreed to fund a certain share of the expense to station a Basic Life Support/Advanced Life Support (BLS/ALS) ambulance at the Lakeville fire station around the clock and an ALS quick response vehicle or "fast car" next to Hawley Borough Hall from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

The "fast car" enables paramedics to be on scene rendering advanced care ahead of arrival of the ambulance transport vehicle. The "fast car" can also meet other BLS companies — such as Tafton, White Mills or Lackawaxen — on scene with paramedics and avoid taking an ALS ambulance out of service.

The multi-municipal service has been discussed for about five years to improve ambulance response in the Hawley Lake Region in the wake of declining ability of EMS companies to attract volunteers, an issue both statewide and nationally.

Robert Boogertman, Paupack Township supervisor and president of PPH, stated that the EMS industry has become a business, and in a rural area it needs both its ability to bill insurance companies for service and subsidization to survive. He said that they saw that a regional effort was needed, with the three municipalities working together, but hopes that other municipalities will become involved to help make it more sustainable.

The PPH president also commented that he hopes legislators would realize the problem EMS agencies are having and see that the companies get the funding that they need.

Lackawaxen Township took the step to subsidize their ambulance service, Boogertman noted, adding, "If other municipalities followed their model, they wouldn't have that problem."

Pennsylvania Ambulance is based in Lackawanna County and started in 2013. The company covers all of Lackawanna County with its operating base in Scranton.

They acquired the assets and hired some of the personnel of Commonwealth Health's EMS service on Nov. 27, 2022, said Bruce Beauvais, operations manager for Pennsylvania Ambulance. That includes Commonwealth Health's base at the Lakeville fire station in Wayne County. They have been able to maintain continuous coverage since then.

Their crew is familiar with the routes in this area, with most of the personnel who operate here being from Wayne and Pike counties, Beauvais said. Also, Hawley Borough designated Commonwealth Health as primary responder for about three and a half years.

Beauvais said Pennsylvania Ambulance is always looking to recruit personnel. It does its own BLS training at Scranton and is waiting for national certification to start paramedic training.

While their primary responsibility is to these three municipalities, Beauvais said that their crews also will serve when dispatched for mutual aid to other areas in Wayne and Pike counties as needed.

Pete Steffen, Paupack Township chairperson, is vice president of PPH; Elaine Herzog, Hawley council member, is secretary.

"This is a very positive thing for the three municipalities and comes at a critical time for the region," Herzog said.

The new regional service just happened to come into play soon after the announcement that Lake Region EMS, the former Hawley Ambulance & Rescue Company, had ceased operations. Pennsylvania Ambulance, however, had already been regularly responding from Lakeville since late last year.

Lake Region EMS officials cited difficulty with staffing ambulance crews and funding challenges. The company stopped answering emergency calls in late April. The disposition of the half-completed ambulance headquarters on Gravity Road and their apparatus was still pending.

Boogertman said it was a "tragedy" that Lake Region EMS did not work out. The PPH board did have multiple talks with the company when they were considering candidates for the agreement, but in the end PPH viewed Pennsylvania Ambulance as the most suitable for their three municipalities.

"Pennsylvania Ambulance is a proven entity and viable source," Boogertman said, stressing that it was only the beginning.

For more information about Pennsylvania Ambulance, visit paambulance.com.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Regional ambulance service begins July 1 for Hawley, Paupack, Palmyra