Borough Council votes to pay St. Francis $17,000 for services through Jan. 2
By: Vic Monaco
HIGHTSTOWN It sounded great: round-the-clock emergency medical services provided by a state-certified and hospital-affiliated squad at virtually no cost to the borough.
"We thought that had to be too good to be true," said Borough Clerk Candace Gallagher.
It was.
Faced with an understaffed volunteer squad and a failed experiment to receive free services from St. Francis Emergency Medical Services, the Borough Council voted unanimously Monday night to pay St. Francis $17,000 for services through Jan. 2. The bulk of that money, $15,000, will come from The Peddie School’s annual donation to the borough for first aid services. The balance will come directly from the local squad’s borough-funded budget of $25,000.
The decision, not surprisingly, was met with mixed reviews.
"It doesn’t make any sense $17,000 for 40 days of service," said squad member Erini Papafilipakis, who spoke during and after the meeting. "When another squad comes in next year, where are you going to get another $17,000?"
Local resident JP Gibbons said he is "deeply concerned" with the effect of council’s decision.
"We have a squad that needs to be redeveloped. What we’ve just done is take $17,000 out of their budget," he said, adding that volunteers help keep local taxes down.
Ms. Papafilipakis said the borough should have relied on the local squad which she acknowledged has only about seven riding members along with the mutual aid agreements with East Windsor and Cranbury.
That couldn’t be done, Councilman Larry Quattrone said Tuesday.
"The response time is too long it’s as long as 45 minutes," he said, adding that not all local squad members are certified as emergency medical technicians.
In commending council’s action Monday night, Fire Chief John Archer expressed a similar sentiment. He said he recently waited 45 minutes for an ambulance with an ill neighbor.
"I never felt so helpless in my life," he said.
Ms. Gallagher explained that St. Francis had attempted to provide free services since about a year ago but found itself responding to calls from outside the borough, for which they would be paid.
"They thought they could cover us 24 hours at no cost but they can’t do that," she said.
Of the new payment, she said, "We’re probably giving them half of what they need to be here."
The borough began investigating ways to improve emergency medical response times in the summer of 2004. In November 2004, Borough Council authorized a letter of intent with St. Francis to supply virtually free services. The borough would cover the cost of fuel for the ambulance and maintenance costs. The service apparently began in January, after St. Francis was certified as an ambulance service in December.
The issue sparked bad feelings last fall when local first aid members claimed they had been left in the dark when it came to the pending agreement with St. Francis. Borough records seemed to refute that notion.
Ms. Gallagher said the borough is currently negotiating with St. Francis and MONOC, the ambulance service contracted by East Windsor Township, in the hopes of reaching an agreement for next year.
In the meantime, Councilman Quattrone said, St. Francis will be the lead responder with the local squad serving as backup.
St. Francis will use the borough’s just-inspected ambulance while the squad will use its own, newer, ambulance.
While St. Francis EMS is affiliated with St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, customers can be taken to the hospital of their choice, according to Ms. Gallagher.
Mr. Quattrone and Ms. Gallagher acknowledged that the new deal could serve as a disincentive to attracting volunteers to the local squad.
"We’d hate to see that happen," he said, "but we have a need to protect our residents."
Barbara Bickell, president of the squad, could not be reached for comment.

