Manchester Setting Up Paid EMS Service As Volunteers Dwindle

MANCHESTER, NJ — Manchester Township is creating a paid first aid squad to serve the town, as dwindling volunteer squad members have left part of the town with inconsistent first aid coverage, Mayor Ken Palmer announced Monday night.

The announcement followed action by the Township Council on Monday night to remove the Manchester First Aid Squad from its list of authorized first aid providers in the township.

"Volunteerism across the country is dwindling in numbers and its effects are being felt in Manchester like never before," Palmer said in announcing the change. Declining membership in the Manchester First Aid Squad led to sporadic coverage.

A message requesting comment from the Manchester First Aid Squad was not immediately returned.

There were 10 straight days in January with only a few calls answered by Manchester First Aid Squad and five days in a row where the squad did not have a crew, Palmer said. Manchester receives 800 to 1,000 first aid calls per month, he said.

"Despite their best efforts, our volunteers' coverage has been sporadic," he said. It was not immediately known how many members Manchester First Aid has; Palmer said many of them live outside Manchester.

The lack of available volunteers has resulted in delays in response times, Palmer said.

"When a call for first aid is made, the call goes to the (Ocean) County dispatchers and the protocol is to dispatch our volunteer first aid squads first," the announcement said. If the volunteer squads are not able to respond, the dispatchers then have to contact the back-up service provider, Quality Medical Transport. The result is a delay in getting patients to the hospital.

Manchester expects to roll out its own paid EMS squad bginning March 1, Police Chief Lisa Parker said. She said 70 people applied to take the emergency medical technician's test and they are in the process of doing background checks on the possible hires.

Until then, Quality Medical Transport will be the primary responding service, and Manchester has arranged for mutual aid with Toms River to provide back-up service on the east side of town.

The Whiting First Aid squad remains operational and will continue to provide coverage on the west side of town, with backup from Quality Medical Transport when necessary.

"Manchester needs 24/7 coverage with multiple ambulances ready to respond with two certified EMTs on the rigs," Parker said. "Our residents deserve it.”

The paid EMS squad will be housed at the building on Colonial Drive that has housed the Manchester First Aid Squad. The building is owned by the township and is deed-restricted for use for township emergency services, the announcement said.

Volunteers have been encouraged to apply for the paid positions or continue volunteering as a an auxiliary EMT, Palmer said.

"We recognize the value of volunteerism and we encourage those who have the time and skill set to be a part of our team," he said.

The addition of the township-operated EMS Division will eventually include paid firefighters who will be dually certified as EMTs, to supplement daytime volunteers’ fire calls along with answering first aid calls.

"We will have a fully functional emergency response team with police, fire and EMTs all working together for the betterment of the community," Parker said.

In addition to removing Manchester First Aid as an authorized first aid service provider, the township established the fees for paid EMS services.

Donna Markulic, the township business administrator, said the township will bill patients' insurance companies for their treatment and transportation. For township residents, there will be no balance billing after the insurance payments. People who are not Manchester residents but are treated by Manchester EMS will receive a bill for what their insurance doesn't cover, Markulic said.

Quality Medical Transport does balance-bill patients, regardless of where they live, Markulic said. The company has been answering 94 percent of the calls in the township in the last few months, so the startup of the township's EMS is anticipated to reduce that cost for residents.

Markulic said the township is still ironing out the details of a third-party provider to handle the billing services.

"It was our hope to have a transition period when the township’s paid EMS service was on-line," Palmer's announcement said. "Unfortunately, we could not wait. We needed to take this action to ensure our residents on the east side of town are afforded the fastest and most efficient response times."

Note: This article has been updated to reflect the township's plans for insurance billing of the service.

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