MEDIA, PA — Media Borough Council plans to reject an invitation to form a public entity combining ambulance services with five nearby towns.
For several months, officials from six towns including Media have discussed the possibility of combining Emergency Medical Services (EMS), which would be governed under a regional authority. It's designed to stabilize ambulance services after the end of Crozer Health's EMS left many Delco towns scrambling.
It would be funded by health insurance payouts and a per-property fee to be determined across all member towns. The fees would reduce costs for residents who are uninsured or paying off a deductible.
A public hearing on the proposed alliance is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Strath Haven Middle School auditorium. The governing bodies of six towns — Media, Upper Providence, Swarthmore, Rose Valley, Nether Providence and Rutledge — will vote on whether to join the regional service.
But after a year of review, Media Borough Council has announced that they will not join the authority, determining it will be cheaper for the Borough and its residents to maintain Media's EMS partnership with Main Line Health in 2027.
"Our goal is to keep advanced life support EMS system in the borough for the benefit of our community," Council President Mark Paikoff said in a statement. "Media Borough Council applauds the regional effort and will continue to have open dialogue about future collaboration."
Over the past year, a working group of local officials and emergency responders has been developing a framework for the proposed regional authority.
In April, the group said much of the funding would come from the health insurance of those who use the service. The remaining cost would be covered by a flat, per-property fee in the member towns.
The concept was developed in response to Crozer Health's demise last year, which closed two hospitals and left much of Delaware County without its primary EMS infrastructure. Crozer Health ceased operations after the bankruptcy of Prospect Medical Holdings — the Los Angeles-headquartered private company that owned Crozer.
"Crozier closing demonstrated what happens when essential public services depend on private-sector decisions made far from the communities they serve," said Swarthmore Mayor Conlen Booth, a member of the working group.
The regional authority is expected to begin serving residents in 2027. It will officially form once the governing bodies in member towns vote to join it.
Each member town will appoint one person to serve on the authority's governing body, according to the working group.
Media Borough Council intends to formally vote against joining the authority during the Council's Sept. 17 meeting.
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