The merger of two local emergency response squads has proven successful, resulting in an increase in volunteers and the ability to handle more calls, according to a rescue squad official.
The Matawan First Aid and Rescue Squad and the South Aberdeen EMS merged to form the Bayshore EMS in June.
And Steven J. Morley, president of the Matawan First Aid and Rescue Squad, said the merger has had positive results.
“It has benefited a lot of people and has been a great six months now,” Morley said in a recent interview. “There are always some ups and downs with merging two organizations, but we’re working through everything and our membership number is growing.”
At the Nov. 16 meeting, the Borough Council officially passed a resolution authorizing the Bayshore EMS to act as the official provider of emergency medical services for borough residents.
While the organization has been acting in this capacity since the merger, Morley said it solidifies the Bayshore EMS’s commitment to the residents and visitors of the community.
“By sharing resources, we wil l be able to achieve our goal of providing exceptional EMS services in a timely manner for the residents of both jurisdictions and surrounding towns,” he said.
Although we have a new name, a new
“ logo and a new coverage area; we are still going to be the same volunteers that have dedicated our lives to protecting the community we call home.”
Morley said while the decision to merge was not an easy one, volunteerism and donations were down and forced the respective squads to look into alternative options to continue serving their local communities.
“We were down on membership, we were down on funds and we were trying to figure out a solution to keeping the volunteerism alive as best as possible,” he said. “It was just a random thought of possibly merging with another local first aid squad, merging with another local first aid squad, but they were having similar problems with membership numbers and funds [and] it was along shot, but it worked out.
“Both organizations were on board 100 percent to make this work … and things came about pretty quickly.”
Morley said through the merger, the organization’s ranks have increased and numbers approximately 50 active members – which he said has helped with call response.
“We’re answering calls, we’re not turning over calls to other local towns,” he said. “Before the merger we would probably turn over every other call to mutual aid which is where if we’re not available, another neighboring town would come in and answer the call for us.
“That hasn’t really happened at all since the merger, so it has pretty much been a 360 turnaround call wise.”
Morley said while residents might still have some confusion about the change to the Bayshore EMS, their support has been overwhelming.
“The residents have noticed a little bit,” he said. “I would say the majority of them are confused, but once we explain to them they understand what we did and why we did it — and so far everybody that we have talked to is in support of the decision we made and is very happy with the results.”
Currently, Bayshore EMS operates four ambulances (56, 57, 63 and 64), and a rescue boat. Rescues are conducted in cooperation with Aberdeen Township Hose & Chemical Company, Cliffwood Volunteer Fire Company, Matawan Borough Fire Department and Matawan Police Department’s Advanced Services Unit.
Bayshore EMS is dispatched through Aberdeen Township Police Department’s Communications Division. Members respond to the squad building in personal vehicles (which are identified by flashing blue lights in an emergency) and then respond to the scene of the emergency with the appropriate apparatus.
The squad regularly responds to medical calls, fire calls, motor vehicle accidents, and conducts various community event standbys.
“There were definitely a lot of changes and I think all for the better,” Morley said. “We now have two designated crews every night that are on call – before the station only had one.
“So now the residents of Aberdeen and Matawan can guarantee that there are two ambulances available for calls at all times, which is a pretty big step that we took and a pretty big accomplishment.
“Call volume is very high at this time, since we merged it almost doubled, so we thought it was important to make sure that we have the most resources available to deal with any issues that arise.”
While the decision to merge might be a relatively unusual one, Morley said he has also heard a lot of feedback from other surrounding neighborhoods asking about the benefits of merging and the process.
“We have a lot of inquires, I would say every month we have gotten a new inquiry from a neighboring town or from a town in New Jersey that has heard that we have merged and that things are working successfully and are trying to figure out how we can assist them in bettering their squad and bettering their neighboring towns,” he said. “We’re working closely with a couple different towns with similar situations – even some big towns locally are looking to merge with other towns – and we’ve been helping out different squads with that process and letting them know what it entails and how to go about it. So it’s been a pretty great so far.”
Morley said the organization is doing everything it can to maintain and increase its membership numbers and funds.
“We’re rebranding our ambulances, we’re rebranding our uniforms and we’re always looking into different fundraising ideas for new equipment,” he said.
“Some of our trucks are on the older side, so we are looking to replace some ambulances in the near future, update our buildings.
“A lot of our money also goes to keeping up to date with training, that’s probably our most important fundraising opportunity. We want to make sure we are up to date with all the new regulations and things like that.”