NJ EMS Squad to Fight $108K Fine over Unlicensed Ambulance
By Anthony G. Attrino
Source NJ Advance Media Group, Edison, N.J.
A volunteer emergency ambulance company in Burlington County plans to fight a $108,000 fine proposed by New Jersey officials after an inspector discovered the squad was using an understaffed, unlicensed ambulance.
“There have never been any complaints about our patient care or the quality of our services,” Shamong Emergency Medical Services said in a statement to the media on Saturday. “We will demand a hearing, which is within our rights at the state level, and will demonstrate that Shamong (EMS) has not violated the regulations and has, in fact, operated exactly as instructed by the state regulators."
Shamong EMS, which is part of the Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Company, responded to 90 emergency calls between Oct. 7, 2018, and Oct. 9, 2019, using an ambulance that was not licensed through the New Jersey Department of Health, according to a Feb. 19 notice from the state to EMS Chief Dave Taylor.
The squad is licensed to provide basic life support and operates two vehicles licensed with the state. A third ambulance was not licensed and was staffed with only one EMT instead of two on several occasions – another state violation, according to the notice.
The state's Office of Emergency Medical Services has proposed that Shamong pay a fine of $108,000 or request an administrative hearing.
Taylor told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday that Shamong EMS had “a verbal understanding with the state” that it could operate one unlicensed ambulance with one EMT as long as it did not bill health insurance companies.
Instead of insurance money, the volunteer squad paid for the ambulance with money budgeted through the township and obtained through fundraisers, Taylor said.
Taylor, who has been chief since January, said the squad operated that way for more than 25 years in a practice that predates his tenure.
“They (the volunteers) had a very clear understanding that this is how they could operate and they did it this way,” Taylor said. “Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything in writing.”
In its statement, Shamong blames “a perceived internal struggle at the state” and an interest in eliminating New Jersey’s volunteer squads.
Shamong EMS “will continue to operate by legally running calls with a licensed ambulance when able to operate in compliance and, thereby, allow our taxpayers and not our volunteers to enjoy the benefit of the billing revenue,” the statement said.
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