By: Vic Monaco, Managing Editor and Cara Latham, Staff Writer
HIGHTSTOWN The Borough Council plans to introduce a bond ordinance Monday to finance the purchase of an ambulance.
Administrator Candace Gallagher said this week that the plan is for Washington Township to purchase a demonstrator ambulance at a cost of about $87,500 and the borough to eventually reimburse the full cost.
Washington is the lead agency in the two towns’ recently approved shared emergency medical services agreement.
That municipality announced July 26 that it had received an $85,000 state grant for first aid services, of which a significant portion is earmarked to upgrade the ventilation system in Hightstown’s First Aid Squad building.
But there was no grant money available for a new ambulance. And Hightstown’s 1994 vehicle had to be taken out of service in the last week, Ms. Gallagher said.
"We need to replace it immediately," she said.
Borough Mayor Bob Patten agreed.
"Let’s go for it," he said. "It’s something you’ve got to have."
The ambulance will have 2,000 to 3,000 miles on it and will save the borough about $40,000 to $50,000, when compared to a brand new one, Ms. Gallagher said. It will be the property of the borough, she and the mayor said, and can be in hand as early as next week.
The state Department of Community Affairs awarded the $85,000 SHARE grant, of which $25,000 will be used for the Hightstown ventilation system.
"The grant pays for all of the costs in fixing that, which is just a wonderful capital improvement for the Hightstown Squad," said Washington Administrator Mary Caffrey said. "I’ve got to think it’s going to help them in terms of morale with the volunteers."
"It would have probably taken the volunteers (in Hightstown) years to ever find funds to fix the ventilation system," she added.
She said the grant also will provide $15,000 worth of equipment used for filling oxygen bottles, $8,000 for uniforms, $2,600 for drug-screening costs, $4,000 for turnout jackets and $2,100 for helmets. Another $8,074 will go toward outfitting the ambulances with various equipment including stretchers, triage bags and backboards for both adults and children cost. And a portion will cover the $64,000 annual cost to pay a full-time EMS coordinator, Ms. Caffrey said.
In addition, she said, there will be money to purchase various pieces of technology that will cut down on paperwork and make it easier for workers, including volunteers and part-timers, to do their jobs. Those items include two desktop computers one for Washington and one for Hightstown and three Panasonic Toughbooks, rugged laptop computers designed for military and emergency services employees, valued at $11,100 each.
Instead of doing paperwork, emergency medical technicians will be able to use the equipment to file everything electronically, Ms. Caffrey said.
"The less headache it is for the volunteers to come in and work and do the medical-care part, the more attractive it is to do a shift," she said. "It becomes a more attractive prospect for volunteers."
When asked if he thought the upgraded ventilation system might attract more volunteers, Borough Councilman Larry Quattrone said, "it certainly can’t hurt."
Councilman Quattrone said the grant shows that "interlocal agreements do work. They’re good for everybody."
Ms. Caffrey said the grant allows the first aid squad to "be one of the most advanced EMS operations around, through the ability to get some technology that probably otherwise would have taken us years to accumulate."
"We are really excited about it," she said. "It’s one of the largest SHARE grants ever awarded."
Under a three-year deal struck in March between the two communities, emergency medical services are provided by Washington 24 hours a day, five days a week, and 14 hours a day three days a week. Hightstown volunteers work three 10-hour shifts on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays.
The system has utilized one ambulance stationed in the borough and another in the township, and the two towns share another ambulance owned by the township, for backup. EMTs continue to take patients to the hospitals of their choice within reason, and patients’ insurance companies continue to be billed.
Ms. Gallagher previously said the borough’s deal with Washington costs Hightstown $215,000 this year, which translates into an annual savings of about $43,000. Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Corp. (MONOC), which previously provided emergency medical services to the borough, had given the borough a quote of $259,000 for 2007.
In addition to the annual savings on the contract cost, Ms. Gallagher said the agreement allows the borough to earn about $12,500 annually in revenue from billing reimbursements, something the borough had not shared in with MONOC.
