New EMS Chief for Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps

Nick Franzoso was recently appointed Chief of EMS by the Board of Directors of the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

“As the former OVAC Captain, he has been wearing two hats since the unfortunate disability of the former Chief Sam Lubin,“ explained Richard Wishnie of the Mid Hudson Ambulance District, which serves the Towns of Ossining, New Castle, the Villages of Ossining, Croton and Sleepy Hollow.

OVAC is the contractual EMS provider for the Mid Hudson Ambulance District.

PHOTO: left to right: Nick Franzoso, Richard Wishnie and Alex Beck, Chairman of the OVAC Board of Directors/courtesy Richard Wishnie

Here is the press statement issued by OVAC:

Ossining, NY – September 10, 2015 – The Board of Directors of the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps has contracted with OVAC Captain Dominic Franzoso to become its Emergency Medical Services Director on October 5, 2015.

Captain Franzoso will assume responsibility of managing OVAC’s volunteer and career staffs and, working with Line Officers, for all daily operations of the Corps. He will be liaison to the Emergency Services Community, OVAC Medical Director, the Village of Ossining emergency Management Team, and the Board of Directors of the Mid-Hudson Ambulance District. The Director will participate in all emergency incidents, will perform the duties of Infection Control Officer; he will recruit new volunteers and employees and recommend training and retraining.

Captain Franzoso, Westchester Magazine’s 2015 Healthcare Hero, became a Youth Member of the Corps in 1999 and was elected into full membership in 2001, was elected 2nd Lieutenant (2007), 1st Lieutenant (2008-10), and Captain (2011 to present). He has led the Corps de facto since February 2014, performing many of the duties of former Director Sam Lubin, who was serious injured in a motor vehicle accident. Captain Franzoso is also an Active Member of the Ossining Volunteer Fire Department Engine 96 (2008 to present). He holds an EMT-B License and is certified in six levels of the Incident Command System (ICS) of the National Incident Management System (NIMS 5A, 100, 200, 700, 706, and 800). While volunteering at OVAC, he has held various management positions at Blackwalnut LLC, an Emmy-award winning fabricator of scenic environments for television, exhibits, live events and theatre.

“Nick has been a trusted, dependable member of the Corps since 1999 and a Line Officer exemplar since 2007. His selection as EMS Director, after many years of dedicated and committed service to OVAC and the Ossining Community, is the logical next step in his outstanding career in EMS. He knows OVAC thoroughly and the emergency services business, is well respected and liked by his colleagues in the Corps, emergency personnel at Phelps and by me.” – Dr. Emil Nigro, Medical Director, OVAC; Director of Emergency Medicine, Phelps Memorial Hospital Center.”

About the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps (OVAC)

OVAC, comprising volunteer and career first responders, has provided the highest level of Basic Life Support (BLS) emergency medical care to the Ossining Community since 1958 and Advance Life Support (ALS) since the 1980s, and currently provides ALS and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to the residents of Croton-on-Hudson, ALS to Briarcliff Manor, as well as EMTs to Sleepy Hollow.

“We are continuously strengthening OVAC’s leadership and Nick Franzoso’s appointment to EMS Director is another big step forward for both OVAC and the communities we have ties with in the Hudson Valley. Nick joined OVAC as a volunteer Junior Member when at Ossining High School and has been a dedicated member of OVAC throughout his adult life. We know that his experience in various leadership roles of OVAC prepared him to take this next important step. Our relationships with the surrounding communities and with Phelps Memorial Hospital will only grow stronger with Nick at the helm. I am confident that he will take us into the next several decades with new and innovative approaches to community EMS for Ossining and our FlyCar partner communities.” – Alex Beck, Chairman, OVAC Board of Directors