Boro looks to establish paid ambulance service
Spotswood seeks to address shortage of volunteers
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

A shortage of first aid volunteers is prompting the start-up of an ambulance company complete with paid members.

The new organization would use the services of emergency medical technicians funded by the insurance providers of patients.

The Spotswood Borough Council introduced an ordinance at a special meeting last Thursday to create the service, known as the Spotswood Municipal Ambulance Co. A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5.

Designed to augment the borough’s volunteer services, the organization would charge only insurance providers. Residents themselves will not be charged, Mayor Barry Zagnit said, as there will be no co-pay or deductible. The organization will not charge people who do not have health insurance.

The action was brought on by the shortage of first aid volunteers. Busy schedules and heavy training demands have made it very difficult for the squad to recruit and hold onto members, Zagnit said. As a result, Spotswood has been using mutual aid services from Monroe Township for many of its calls.

The issue came to public attention at a recent council meeting when Councilman-elect Thomas Barlow inquired about a posting he read on the Internet indicating that Spotswood first aid squad members were drawing wages.

Councilman Curtis Stollen said the squad began paying individuals $9 an hour to staff the squad. This was permitted because the squad is not an arm of borough government, and uses money received through fundraising. The group does receive $30,000 per year from the borough, mainly to cover insurance costs.

Payments to first aid members became effective Sept. 1.

Leo Servis, current president of the first aid, will be appointed director of the ambulance company, the mayor said. A salary has yet to be determined for the position.

Salaries and all costs related to the ambulance company will be funded by insurance companies.

Zagnit said the borough’s inability to attract and hold onto volunteer firefighters and first aid members has worsened.

“People have little time, even for their families,” he said, referring to the busy schedules of most residents.

Monroe Township, he noted, already uses the system, which is known as third-party billing, for many years and with success. That township’s squad uses paid members along with volunteers.

First aid squad members in Spotswood approached borough officials with the idea of creating the ambulance company to shore up the ailing service, Zagnit said, noting that officials chose the third-party system from a number of options that were considered to resolve the situation.

“This essentially guarantees the existence of a first aid squad, a quick response, and that people will never be billed,” he said.

Zagnit said the borough is indebted to the volunteers who have served the community and offered their time and effort free of charge.

Stollen said he believes the third-party system is a good idea and will provide for quicker responses.

In the past, when Spotswood volunteers were unavailable, a call was placed to Monroe, but it takes time for workers to get to Spotswood. Also, Monroe asks those who do not live in that township to pay the insurance balances, regardless of coverage.

Spotswood, like many towns, sought to attract and retain volunteers by offering a Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP), which funds retirement accounts for qualifying first aid and fire department members, but Stollen said the program has not made a great difference in resolving the manpower problems.