By Rita Savard
Lowell Sun
Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
CHELMSFORD, Mass. — Two years ago, talk of an in-house ambulance service fueled a firestorm of controversy about public safety. Tomorrow night, town Manager Paul Cohen plans to present a new proposal, putting the topic back on the front burner.
With Trinity Ambulance’s contract expiring Dec. 1, Cohen says shifting paramedic services from Trinity to the town’s Fire Department could generate enough revenue to restore public-safety resources that were axed due to budget constraints.
“The focus isn’t about money. The focus is about providing public safety,” Cohen said. “We’re in a situation where we have fire stations closing on a daily basis. This would provide us with the ability to keep all the fire stations open and give us sufficient capacity to service fire and medical calls.”
But there is concern that in-house ambulance service could cause the town to lose much more than it would gain.
“I’ve been studying this proposal for about a month now and I don’t think the plan works for Chelmsford at this point,” said Selectman Philip Eliopoulos. “There are serious concerns. Financially, we run the risk of losing money, but first and foremost, can we meet the medical needs of the town? I’m not convinced. I think service would suffer under the plan as it exists today.”
Chelmsford’s ambulance service has been provided by Trinity Ambulance since 1994, for $1 per year.
Trinity’s owner, Chelmsford resident John Chemaly, declined to comment until he’s heard Cohen’s proposal.
Chemaly said Trinity transports about 2,000 Chelmsford residents to area hospitals each year, and has 10 to 13 ambulances on call 24 hours a day. The company dispatches ambulances from Cushing Place in Chelmsford Center, its corporate offices on Westford Street in Drum Hill, and from Maple Street in Lowell, close to East Chelmsford.
One basic life-support ambulance, along with two trained emergency-medical technicians, costs about $400,000, Chemaly said.
Cohen was reluctant to provide details of the plan until tomorrow. But a source said the town manager’s plan is to purchase two basic life-support ambulances and hire five additional full-time employees to staff them at a total cost of $534,374. Cohen estimates $285,000 total profit in the first year, according to The Sun’s source.
Creating an in-house ambulance service would mean adding more personnel to maintain fire and medical calls, Cohen said. But an ambulance staffed by Chelmsford firefighters, who are already responding to medical calls, would provide a projected six-figure income without jeopardizing manpower at fires, he added.
Whenever there is an emergency medical call, the fire and police departments, along with Trinity, respond.
“Generally, the first agency that gets there will evaluate whether they (the patient) needs medical work,” said Deputy Fire Chief Jim Sousa.
Whether the town’s service is private or in-house, agreements are made with other towns for mutual aid if the local service provider is tied up, Sousa said.
With more than a dozen ambulances at their disposal, Chemaly said Trinity “almost never” has to request mutual aid. Trinity’s average response time to emergency calls is about four minutes, Chemaly added.
Eliopoulos said he wonders how life-support services will be affected under the Fire Department’s watch in the event a working fire and several medical calls happen to take place at the same time in different parts of town.
In early 2006, the firefighters’ union proposed taking over basic life-support transportation as a way to bring in more revenue during a major budget shortfall. Firefighters said an in-house system would provide more efficient and seamless service to patients while raising about $300,000 in revenue.
Considering the cost factors — buying ambulances and personnel costs, including health insurance, overtime and retirement benefits — then-Town Manager Bernie Lynch argued the move would be an expensive mistake.
In May 2006, Lynch handed a 31-page report to selectmen, opposing an in-house ambulance service, saying the town would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Calculated as a new enterprise, Lynch said it would cost Chelmsford more than $1.5 million to operate two 24-hour basic life-support ambulances with Fire Department personnel. In the best-case scenario, Lynch said, the net gain could be just $4,700. In the worst case, the town could lose $899,000, he said.
Cohen anticipates some will not want to end the town’s 14-year relationship with Trinity. He said the issue has nothing to do with Trinity’s service, but looks like “a necessary step to maintain operations.”
In May, Town Meeting passed a $92 million budget that slashed the Fire Department’s budget by $246,711. The department alternates closing the East and West fire stations. Money for emergency-medical training and Student Awareness Fire Education also was cut.
About 50 percent of the Fire Department’s calls are for emergency-medical services, according to Fire Chief Jack Parow. Of the town’s 56 firefighters, 54 are trained as EMTs.
Cohen will unveil his full proposal tomorrow night, but doesn’t expect selectmen will vote on it immediately.
“Delivering quality care is most important,” Cohen said. “It’s not all about the dollar.”