Residents in Fox Chapel and West Deer may begin seeing ambulances from either community responding more frequently across municipal lines as the two EMS agencies move to more closely share resources in an effort to cut costs and improve response times.
Foxwall EMS Chief Ben Shopland emphasized that the arrangement is not a merger, but a collaboration between two separate services.
“Our focus right now is what can we do as two separate services working together to make sure our communities have the best possible coverage,” Shopland said.
Shopland said rising operational costs and stagnant insurance reimbursement rates are straining EMS agencies across the region.
“We also continue to see costs go up, and rather than just go back to the communities and ask for more money every time the bills go up, we wanted to get together and see if there are more creative ways to figure out to work together to be more efficient and maintain the quality of care that are communities expect,” said Shopland.
“It’s been a long time since insurance rates have been updated to reflect costs,” Shopland added. “Generally, we lose money answering 911 calls.”
To manage those challenges, Foxwall and West Deer EMS will work more closely on joint training, bulk purchasing of medical supplies and providing mutual assistance when units in one community are tied up on calls. Officials stressed that the collaboration will not affect staffing, response times or patient care.
“Everybody wants to hear that their ambulances in their community and that is still the case, you know neither one of us is trying to take over the other,” said Shopland.
Shopland hopes these small changes can prevent more hardships in the future.
“What we don’t want to do is wait until we are forced into something where there is no other option — where we’re cutting jobs, cutting resources and consolidating in a way that reduces service,” Shopland said. “At this stage we are looking at how those two services can operate better together.”
Shopland says the two services are seeking public input and feedback on the partnership.
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