MONTICELLO  — The Sullivan County Legislature passed a resolution to modify their contract with SeniorCare Emergency Medical Services to add an Advanced Life Support (ALS) Ambulance to the four fly-cars that SeniorCare currently provides to the county. 

The ALS Ambulance, which will be available for 16 hours a day, seven days a week from June 15 to September 15, will be staffed by paramedics and is capable of providing a higher level of care than a Basic Life Support (BLS) Ambulance. 

The resolution passed during the legislature meeting on Thursday, May 22, and reflects the legislature’s continued commitment to enhance Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the county.

The legislature’s original contract with SeniorCare was first enacted in June 2024 and provided Sullivan County with four fly-cars; these are EMS vehicles that provide rapid response to patients in an emergency but do not transport them to the hospital. 

The fly-car program has been extremely successful in reducing EMS response times.

“We continue to show about a 12 to 15 minute response time savings,” Sullivan County 911 coordinator Alex Rau said during the Public Safety and Law Enforcement Committee Meeting on May  1. “The next thing we have to look at is, we’re seeing extended transport times, so our fly car gets there, and we’re waiting a very long time for an ambulance to come and get that patient to the hospital, so that’s something I think we need to address.”

The new resolution passed on 5/20 addresses the need for more ambulance service in the county and will strengthen the EMS system during the busier summer months when emergency calls increase significantly. 

The Legislature approved the cost of the ambulance at $245,000, which is subject to reimbursement under the New York State Department of Health EMS Grant Program.