Gadfly - You're still not grasping the nature of this business. Were REMS dissolved, EVERYTHING they own would be sold, including their building. The only thing the town owns right now (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) are the Paramedic trucks that are dispatched from the police station. So clip REMS and everything goes up for sale --the building, the ambulances, the equipment, the uniforms, et cetera. To purchase all this today would be nearly if not wholly impossible; somewhere in the realm of tens of millions of dollars. And to simply jump through the legal hoops with the state to license an ambulance crew would cost a kings ransom in lawyer fees.

I think you're also being flippant when it comes to the REMS crew simply saying 'what the hell' and joining Mohawk. I HIGHLY doubt that would happen. As has been mentioned, Mohawk's workers aren't exactly tickled with the business to begin with. That's probably why their response times ARE inflated.

The other thing I believe your mistaken on is that their trying to set up a taxing district. I'm almost positive they were looking at a flat, per-capita fee from the town that would be negotiated much like they do in Duanesburg. You may say there's no difference here, but I think that gives the town board a lot more leverage when dealing with them.

I mentioned those names because they're the ones who have slowed this whole process down to a halt, from what I've heard. Last year, it was the two of them. Now it's just Mertz.

Bottom line: Get rid of REMS and you're stuck with Mohawk. Keep REMS and you at least have an ounce of leverage. The town would also save by merging the paramedic program into REMS. Not to mention, you have a community ambulance program. Frankly, I'd much rather have someone from my own town coming to an emergency than a private contractor.

I get your points Hack - I never said there were no advantages in keeping the current EMS.
On the tax district, it was made clear the last time this discussion took place that a tax district was considered an option. The $17 fee per household they
quoted at the time was said to be what the actual cost of that tax would actually amount to, at the time. The "T" word is now being discussed again, only
now it amounts to $25 per household, with more households. I admit, I see this largely as a fiscal decision, but I think it would be irresponsible not to
consider the fiscal implications. In this sense, Mohawk does have the advantage hands down.

I was talking with someone today who had some insight in this ambulance matter. First they said that Mohawk Ambulance employees are NOT happy about the possibility of taking on Rotterdam. And YES, they are already picking up dropped calls from Rotterdam....reluctantly! It was also mentioned that it is our town board that has been dragging their feet with this issue. That they are not addressing it in the timely manor that they should. This has become a serious issue and should be handled very soon.

No matter how you look at it, WE the tax payer will be paying for this service. Whether we are paying a private company or we are employing our own to handle our ambulance service. Now the town board needs to look at our present ambulance crew and decide if they are doing a good enough job to be considered as a permanent solution.  

And I agree with Hack....having our own would give us much more leverage!!

The Town Board even did a study on this issue and they still can't make a decision on how to solve the problem. It all goes back to the same problem that has been going on for the last four years, all we get for our tax dollars is a lot of talk, a lot of studies, and no solutions to the towns problems.

shadow, I believe there were 2 studies done and both with conflicting recommendations. Tommasone has to look at the REMS's books and financial standing. Why are they losing money? Poor management? Then management must be replaced! Perhaps Stairs isn't the right person for the job. I also understand that the board is not in full agreement with what to do with our present ambulance situation.

Than have a public hearing for this issue alone. Let's hear both sides and what 'the people' have to say about it. Then either the board makes the decision or put it up for a vote on election day. This ambulance issue is not going away and should  be addressed....soon!

Bumble, I agree that there may be some financial problems with the REMS but they should have been addressed by now. With something as important as life and death time is a monumental concern and who would provide the quickest care to our residents has to be a great concern to us. I used to be an EMT with the old volunteer ambulance squad in Rotterdam for 6 years so I know a little about how they operate and like everything else involving health-care the state has their rules that must be followed, mandatory training every year, best equipment, and newest procedures and the cost for these mandates increase each year. There's no easy fix and no matter what the residents decide, Rems or Mohawk, it will cost money and those costs will rise each year. Just because the board can't agree on what to do doesn't excuse them from doing nothing, it'll cost someone their life sooner or later.

Quoted from bumblethru

shadow, I believe there were 2 studies done and both with conflicting recommendations. Tommasone has to look at the REMS's books and financial standing. Why are they losing money? Poor management? Then management must be replaced! Perhaps Stairs isn't the right person for the job. I also understand that the board is not in full agreement with what to do with our present ambulance situation.

Than have a public hearing for this issue alone. Let's hear both sides and what 'the people' have to say about it. Then either the board makes the decision or put it up for a vote on election day. This ambulance issue is not going away and should  be addressed....soon!

Technically there was only one study, which produced two recommendations. The Cazalet study was conducted to determine financial
standing, the ratio of calls to response rates and the average response times. In all three categories, the EMS failed miserably. The
recommendations made based on those findings were to either contract with Mohawk, or hire a consultant to assist in restructuring
management, billing procedures, etc. The squad wanted neither. The only acceptable "solution" to them was to just create a tax district
without ever addressing their long, well documented history of mismanagement. This is akin to the "solutions" in the education cartel -
just keep throwing more money at problems and they will simply vanish.
The truth is, these guys have never and will never be receptive to any oversight whatsoever, despite their long history of problems.

Rotterdam EMS contract hinges on audit (Schenectady County, Rotterdam)

Posted on: 08/20/08
Ashley Lucas, Clifton Park-Burnt Hills reporter
email: lucasa@spotlightnews.com

The Rotterdam Town Board plans to complete an external audit of Rotterdam Emergency Medical Services Inc. to determine the corps’ financial state before the town considers a contract with the company for ambulance services.

Joe Vanderwerker, president of REMS’ board said the ambulance corps needs a contract with the town of Rotterdam so it can put two basic life-support ambulances on the road 24/7. REMS currently runs with one ambulance regularly.

Vanderwerker estimated the cost of constantly running two basic life support ambulances would be $300,000 annually. He said a contract with the towns of Princetown and Rotterdam, for $32,000 annually — which is equivalent to $30 per household — would ensure the corps’ viability.

Vanderwerker said he welcomes the audit by the town.

“We want to clear up any mismanagement in the past when the organization merged, so we can move forward,” Vanderwerker said.

In 2003, Rotterdam Medical Corps merged with White Eagle Ambulance to make REMS, and began paying all of their staff, according to Vanderwerker. He said since the merger, bills have been misplaced, and he attributes REMS’ financial difficulties to poor bookkeeping.

Vanderwerker said he plans to hire a bookkeeper for the corps in the near future.

The Town Board voted unanimously Wednesday, Aug. 13, to hire Cusack and Company to complete an audit of the corps at a price not to exceed $3,000. Town Supervisor Steven A. Tommasone said the audit would be complete by the end of September.

Rotterdam officials are not the only officials concerned with REMS financial status. The corps owes the Internal Revenue Service more than $275,000 for unpaid payroll taxes and the interest accrued on the taxes, according to Vanderwerker. The IRS imposed liens on the corps for unpaid payroll taxes twice within the past year.

REMS also owes the Town of Rotterdam more than $20,000 for fuel to operate its rigs.

Tommasone said he would share the information from the audit with the towns of Duanesburg and Princetown, so they could decide whether or not to sign a contract for services.

“They want a clean slate and they want to know where the money is being spent,” Vanderwerker said of the town.

While attending a Princetown Town Board meeting looking for a contract with the town, REMS officials learned that the Duanesburg Volunteer Ambulance Corps will no longer provide service to 72 homes in Princetown, which will place a greater burden on REMS, which will need to respond to calls from Princetown, according to Vanderwerker.

REMS financial hardship was uncovered in March, when Vanderwerker stepped in and began searching through documents thtt revealed the company had several unpaid bills including insurance, taxes and fuel.

“Every time I turned a corner there was a hidden bill,” Vanderwerker said.

REMS operates on the payment of bills for services from the corps, according to Vanderwerker. He said sometimes it takes a month or more to receive payment for services, which he said makes it difficult to pay bills on time.

“We’re taking the first steps to analyze where REMS truly is financially,” Tommasone said. He said he wants to ensure that all the corps’ financial obligations are met, so that REMS can provide adequate service to the town.

“The town continues to grow,” Tommasone said. “More people are coming to Rotterdam to work, and we have to be able to ensure their safety and protection.”

Tommasone added that he is “very confident with the future of ambulance services in town.”

Vanderwerker said he is confident that contracts with the two towns will significantly help the corps financially.

“I believe in my heart that all our financial troubles will go away if we can get these contracts,” he said.

Who the heck was running this REMS? And how was it allowed to go on this long? This ambulance corps needs a major rehaul with a new 'boss'. Andif I were Duanesburg or Princetown...I would need some guarentees both financially AND with promised service, before I'd sign on to anything!

This will be another Berger Commission---the vultures are circling for the lucrative future government contracts----and NO MATTER WHAT, WE WILL ALL
STILL BE PAYING----national healthcare anyone??

For the record the town of Duanesburg has no intention of "signing a contract" with REMS.  Our relationship with them has been wonderful and they have helped us out a great deal during a time of need but it was a temporary fix for us.  I have worked as a public safety committee member for eight years and I understand the strain placed on REMS by us, this has a domino effect and places strain on the resources of all the agencies in the area including Mohawk and Western Turnpike.  If you reread the article it states..."He said a contract with the towns of Princetown and Rotterdam, for $32,000 annually...."  It does not mention the signing of a contract with Duanesburg.  I only hope our corps will soon be in a position to help out REMS  

Quoted from bumblethru

Who the heck was running this REMS? And how was it allowed to go on this long? This ambulance corps needs a major rehaul with a new 'boss'. Andif I were Duanesburg or Princetown...I would need some guarentees both financially AND with promised service, before I'd sign on to anything!

This is what I have been talking about with regard to the financial and management issues. It has always been this way, despite
changes in management. They have also hired accountants and the like before, and always end up reverting to the same problems.

Quoted from senders

This will be another Berger Commission---the vultures are circling for the lucrative future government contracts----and NO MATTER WHAT, WE WILL ALL
STILL BE PAYING----national healthcare anyone??

Exactly.

http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

VIEWPOINT
Privatization of ambulances not the answer to EMT shortage
BY PETER HUSTON For The Sunday Gazette

    Rotterdam Volunteer Ambulance is suffering financial problems and may have trouble meeting its obligations. Recently, following internal political squabbling, the Duanesburg Volunteer Ambulance suffered severe volunteer shortages and could not meet its obligations. In both cases, one proposal was to use Mohawk Ambulance, a commercial for-profit service, instead.
    Although this is a convenient solution, it should be considered carefully.
    Although Mohawk Ambulance has many fine employees, it is a private company, run for profit. One advantage to capitalism is that competition brings efficiency and quality. However, since the 1980s, when its parent company absorbed Schenectady Ambulance Service, Mohawk has had a competition-free monopoly to provide ambulance service in the city of Schenectady and most of Glenville.
    Furthermore, many of Mohawk’s best quality recruits come from area volunteer services. Often young, enthusiastic volunteer EMTs accept low wages and long hours to enter commercial ambulance work and gain experience, access to paramedic training and do what they love to do full time. Often, after a year or two, they move on to higher paying municipal or commercial EMS work. Mohawk is in many ways an entry-level agency that recruits from area volunteer services.
QUESTION OF QUALITY
    It is my suspicion that if local area volunteer ambulances begin to disappear, the quality of the typical Mohawk ambulance recruit will go down and the quality of care provided by this company may suffer.
    For the record, I’m an EMT who worked for Mohawk both in the 1980s and briefl y last year. (After six weeks, the manager decided to can his two oldest, most educated recruits, I suspect because we asked questions during orientation he couldn’t answer. The other dismissed employee, a retired RPI professor bitten by the ambulance bug, still serves in good standing in Albany County volunteer EMS.)
    I’ve also worked for Schenectady Ambulance Service in the ‘80s, Empire Ambulance in Troy and various volunteer fire and emergency medical agencies. So I know something about what ambulance work and ambulance workers are like.
    There’s a lot of stress, a lot of independence, a lot of power over other people (in fact, some of the worst, scariest EMTs I’ve seen over the years are attracted to the field by the chance to have power over others). There’s a lot of exposure to ugliness. You see people die, you see people who’ve hurt each other, you see people who’ve hurt themselves, you see people who’ve entered a downward slide and just don’t care anymore. Teenage mothers with three kids and little children living in rat holes where nobody should have to live. Drunks and the emotionally disturbed or agitated threaten you.
PROBLEM OF BURNOUT
    When I left ambulance work, human resource people used to look at me funny when I answered the question, “What was your least favorite thing about your last job?” with “When drunks throw up on my shoes and then threaten to kick my teeth in.”
    After a while, burnout sets in and you sometimes find yourself not caring about what happens to people who just don’t seem to show any interest in caring for themselves.
    You go out at all hours in all weather and sometimes it’s just not safe. During my time in ambulance work, I was a passenger in four ambulances that crashed, fortunately three at low speed. You eat too much fast food on the run and don’t sleep enough.
We often worked more than 60 hours a week, week after week, sleeping in the garage when we could, tolerating low pay because the hours were so long it added up to a (barely) living wage. Besides, there’s an addictive appeal to ambulance work after a while. As crazy as it sounds, I often miss ambulance work and wish I was doing it again, although I know it’s for the best that I left. Still, normal people avoid death, disease, human malaise and violence, especially when they really understand them. The egos of the people involved are often large.
    Every ambulance organization I’ve been involved in considered itself above average, if not the absolute best agency, but only at the skills that its core members considered important.
    Often these were the more “masculine” or technical skills, while the more “feminine” aspects of emergency health care get neglected. I’ve met more than one EMT or paramedic who considered themselves highly skilled and knowledgeable in how to treat the badly injured, but who would occasionally just skip changing sheets and blankets on a stretcher, a highly unsanitary practice, because they just did not feel like doing it that day. Besides, they figure, who will ever really know?
    This is what happens when burnout combines with long hours and low pay.
COMPETITION NEEDED
    One way to increase quality of care provided, get the worst excesses reported more quickly, and increase attention to detail among EMTs is through competition and inter-agency rivalries.
    Based on my experiences, wide-ranging monopolies by commercial services should be avoided in emergency medical pre-hospital care. Not only do these hinder recruitment of new workers, monopolies encourage situations where people are so eager to work in EMS that they settle for long hours and low pay. Such conditions increase burnout among workers, which leads to low quality patient care.
    Turning over large stretches of Schenectady County to Mohawk Ambulance is not a simple, problem-free solution to the shortage of EMTs in many towns.

I agree with Mr. Huston.