MONTICELLO — The Sullivan County Legislature authorized the execution of a contract with SeniorCare Emergency Medical to provide EMS coverage throughout the county. The resolution passed unanimously last Thursday, June 20, in both the Executive Committee and full board, 9-0. 

The contract with SeniorCare Emergency Medical Services that was approved is for the funding of four staffed fly cars throughout the county.  

SeniorCare Emergency Medical Services will provide two Advanced Life Support First Response fly-cars and two Basic Life Support First Response fly-cars, 24 hours per day, seven days per week. 

Fly-cars carry EMTs or paramedics but do not transport patients. 

“Fly-cars are a faster, less resource-intensive way of getting care to the scene of a medical incident,” said Sullivan County Public Safety Commissioner Scott Schulte. “These vehicles will be stationed in strategic locations around the county, supplementing existing ambulance services so that we can rapidly respond.”

What was the process?

The Legislature recognized the need to support the EMS System in Sullivan County and directed the Sullivan County Division of Public Safety - Bureau of EMS to acquire a Municipal Certificate of Need (CON) for EMS within the county. From there, it went to the Sullivan County EMS Advisory Board, which voted in majority support of engaging a third-party EMS provider for fly-car services.

A Request for Proposal (RFP), #R-24-15, was issued and received four responses. The lowest-cost respondent was SeniorCare Emergency Medical Services, an accredited Bronx-based EMS provider that currently provides high-volume, high-level EMS services in New York and New Jersey. 

The RFP response amount was $2,700,000 per year for a contract period of two years, with the option to extend yearly upon mutual agreement. 

SeniorCare was chosen out of the four potential vendors based on considerations of cost, dedication to the initiative, comprehensiveness of their proposal and references, according to Sullivan County Director of Communications Dan Hust.

“As a resident of Sullivan County myself, I understand firsthand the challenges that face the fine EMS professionals operating in the region,” said Michael S. Vatch, the Chief Executive Officer of SeniorCare EMS. “I believe we can bring a service to the EMS system which enhances the already strong system in place. We are excited as we begin to develop the role we will play, and we are indeed honored to have been chosen by Sullivan County.”

Schulte told the Democrat that the contract with SeniorCare is currently being formulated, which he said will be completed within a month to a month and a half. 

He said it would take about 60 to 90 days to establish service, which sets them at mid-September for a hopeful start of service date. 

“I can’t really put it into context of how much work this has been since I’ve been here, as it was a huge undertaking for decades,” Schulte stated. “But it has been the primary focus of everyone involved since I started [as Public Safety Commissioner] 13 months ago. 

“From the EMS Advisory Board to the County Manager’s office, the Legislature and my office [Division of Public Safety],” Schulte continued. “It is a big success and now we are waiting with bated breath to see the improvements within the county with the service in place.”

Schulte also said that ambulances will follow every call a fly-car is dispatched to. 

“Fly-cars will not compete with our local corps,” Schulte said. “They will not ‘steal’ calls and if a corps is able to respond, we will defer to them.”

Each car will have an EMT assigned to it 24/7 and two vehicles will be capable of Basic Life Support, which is giving immediate care at the scene in order to stabilize and support patients through techniques like CPR or AEDs. 

Two of the cars will also be capable of Advanced Life Support, providing advanced airway management, IV access, medication administration and advanced cardiac life support.

EMS and 9-1-1 Coordinator Alex Rau also had a big part in working on getting this contract for the county. 

“Every second counts in an emergency, and this fly-car system will improve response times and provide dedicated resources when it matters most,” Rau said. “I applaud our legislators for their commitment to the health and safety of our residents and supporting our EMS system with this initiative.”

“This is an exciting time for our company and an opportunity to bring our history and strengths into the Sullivan County system,” Vatch concluded. “We are ready to get to work and over the next several weeks and months, we have ambitious plans to stand up resources which will make Sullivan County proud of their decision to choose SeniorCare EMS.”