Panel extends EMS contract

Township mulls purchase of second ambulance

By:Eve Collins
   
   BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — The Township Committee has approved a 90-day extension of its emergency medical services contract with Fire District 2 while it continues negotiations with the district on a new EMS contract.
   The committee extended its contract at its Dec. 30 meeting because of time constraints, said then-Mayor Mark Roselli. The way EMS is responding to calls has changed and they wanted to address any outstanding issues, including work hours and compensation. The old contract does not cover these new issues, he said.
   "We absolutely anticipate renewing (this contract)," said Mr. Roselli.
   At the committee’s work session Jan. 6, it discussed other issues concerning EMS with Commissioner Frank Nucera of Fire District 2, including the number of calls to which EMS responds, and the purchase of a second ambulance so that the township is eligible for third-party billing.
   "Now that the word is out that Bordentown Township has the ability to cover 24/7, we’re getting calls from neighboring communities," said Mr. Roselli, who explained that Fire District 2 should respond first to calls in Bordentown Township and to calls in other areas as emergencies arise.
   Mr. Roselli explained that while the township still has a volunteer base for emergency medical services, it has a bigger paid staff that can respond 24 hours a day to neighboring Chesterfield and Mansfield townships and Bordentown City.
   Chesterfield’s EMS team is entirely volunteer; Mansfield’s is a paid staff during the day and volunteer at night and Bordentown City has a semi-paid staff, said Commissioner Nucera.
   Commissioner Nucera said Bordentown Township’s EMS team is made up of eight volunteers and a rotating paid staff that works 24/7. The team responded to approximately 1,200 calls in 2001 and 1,083 calls as of Dec. 6 for the year 2002.
   "We have narrowed the mutual response area," he said. "We have to evaluate the calls (from adjacent municipalities) to determine whether or not they’re really emergencies."
   The township has a budget of $125,000 for EMS, which covers wages, benefits, supplies, and training, said Mr. Roselli.
   In addition to providing mutual aid to adjacent communities, Fire District 2 also responds to emergencies at the Garden State Correctional Facility, the Albert C. Wagner Correctional Facility and the Juvenile Medium Security Facility.
   Commissioner Nucera is researching a third-party billing program, based on a similar program in Medford. Through the program, insurance companies would pay for ambulance services.
   "Once you establish the third-party billing — whether (the emergency) is a mutual aid call or not — you go," said Commissioner Nucera, who then explained that the insurance carrier and not the individual would be billed.
   Mr. Roselli made it clear that if an individual did not have insurance, it would not stop EMS from responding. The intent is to bill insurance companies, and not individuals, Commissioner Nucera said.
   In order to be eligible for a third-party billing program, Fire District 2 would have to have a second ambulance, said Commissioner Nucera. They have had four proposals for another ambulance, he said, and are waiting for more.
   Through third-party billing, the cost of the new ambulance, as well as overtime hours and cost of personnel would be covered, said Mr. Roselli, so any cost to the taxpayers would be offset.
   The township has applied for a grant that would cover the second ambulance in addition to other equipment, said Commissioner Nucera, but they have not yet heard back about the application.
   Once the committee approves everything, it would only take 120 days to get the ambulance, Commissioner Nucera said. The program could be up and running in six months, he said.