By Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
An uncertain future for the Hillsborough Emergency Management Squad drew the ire of residents on Tuesday night, as officials sought to calm the rhetoric surrounding a potential replacement for the squad in the near future., For more than two hours during the most recent township committee meeting, the governing body listened to the concerns of numerous residents who came out on Valentine’s Day to support the private, non-profit EMS service., Since 1955, Hillsborough’s EMS squad grew from a small organization to one of the largest in the region. According to their website, the squad has since earned a number of accolades, including being named the “Public EMS Provider of the Year” in 2004 and 2009 by the New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services., Last December, officials submitted a public request for bids from companies in the area to handle the emergency medical services of the township., Though Hillsborough EMS (HEMS) had an opportunity to submit a bid, officials said the municipality received a single bid from Robert Wood Johnson Hospital., “[HEMS] had the opportunity just like any organization to submit a proposal and for some reason, they decided not to,” Township Attorney William Willard said. “They could have decided how they could meet the requirements or set alternatives – they didn’t do it.”, According to Committeeman Frank DelCore, the impetus behind the move stemmed from a number of issues., “There are a number of issues that warranted us to look at how the service is provided and determine a better way,” he said., Among those concerns was what consulting firm Fitch and Associates described in a September 2014 study commissioned by the township as an “unsustainable” situation with Hillsborough EMS., As a non-profit organization, HEMS receives approximately $300,000 from the township per year. They are also supplied with several vehicles from the township., In addition, officials said the township contributes an additional $105,000, the maximum allowable amount, in financial contributions., In the 2014 report, the consulting firm concluded that HEMS’ “non-profit business model subsidized by the township without accountability [was] not working,” citing more than 50 recommendations needed to right the ship., Of those recommendations, HEMS Chief David Gwin said there were numerous errors associated with the findings and responded to each item., Ultimately, the reported stated that “outsourcing EMS may be the best option” moving forward., Fitch and Associates provides management services for Robert Wood Johnson’s University Hospital’s Mobile Health Service (EMS). That relationship was mentioned in a footnote on the report and was reportedly disclosed to township officials before the study was ordered., DelCore said the township gave HEMS two years to address those recommendations. After not reaching a satisfactory result, township officials opted to seek public bids for the service., In response to the bidding process, an online petition created over the weekend garnered more than 1,000 signatures of residents allegedly looking to keep HEMS operating., Though supporters of the EMS organization accused the committee of taking these steps solely as a cost-saving measure, Mayor Carl Suraci said the issue was that of long-term viability., “This is not a cost issue. It’s a sustainability issue,” he said., Earlier this year, the HEMS reported that the squad saw a fourth consecutive year where there was an uptick in the number of service calls it received., Last year, according to call volume data collected by the EMS squad, there were 3,501 calls for service in 2016. That number shows a slight increase from the 3,357 calls in 2015, but a marked spike in calls since the 3,002 calls in 2011., Of its 75 members, the EMS squad employs 20 full-time and part-time crew during the day, 30 per-diem members and 25 volunteers., Volunteers cover the township’s night shift from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., while the career staff operates during the day. According to officials, Robert Wood Johnson’s staff would replace the paid crews., Chief among the concerns brought up by residents was the potential impact replacing HEMS with Robert Wood Johnson would have on response times., “Robert Wood Johnson is in New Brunswick. It would take 45 minutes for an ambulance to get here,” resident and Board of Education member Judy Haas, who described HEMS as a part of the fabric of the community, said., Throughout the night, multiple references were made to Robert Wood Johnson’s bid response, which residents said called for at least one ambulance in the township during service hours., According to the bid, however, the hospital committed to supplying two ambulances to the township on a 24-hour basis, with two additional ambulances stationed on the municipality’s northern northern and western borders as backups., Additionally, the bid cites “13 ambulances available within Somerset and Middlesex counties” as additional resources., Though some concerns were raised as to whether volunteers would want to continue devoting their time to the township if they were just going to serve as backup, officials said the bid also calls for cooperation with existing volunteers, as well as the volunteer, non-profit Hillsborough Rescue Squad., Having now received the bid from Robert Wood Johnson, the township has less than 60 days to come to a determination whether to accept the hospital’s offer., Committeeman Douglas Tomson said that regardless of the outcome, he and his fellow committee members live in the township as well and want the best EMS possible., “The decision should be based on what’s best for the township,” he said.
