Newport Township, Pa. Severs Ties with EMS

Oct. 15--Starting Nov. 1, Newport Township Fireman's Community Ambulance will no longer answer calls in its own hometown.

The five-man township board of commissioners voted unanimously to make neighboring Nanticoke Ambulance Association its full-time provider at its meeting last week.

"(Newport Township Fireman's Community Ambulance) could obviously continue to operate independently, but they're not going to operate in the township," Commissioner Michael Roke said.

Jason Kowalski, an ambulance captain in Newport Township, said the vote was "demeaning" to community members who had volunteered and that it would "put us right out of business," because the company will no longer be able to earn money by billing residents for answering emergency calls.

Currently, Newport Township only has an ambulance for basic emergencies, while an advanced life support ambulance -- carrying a paramedic who can administer drugs -- from Nanticoke must be summoned alongside the township truck for more serious calls. Also, ambulances from Nanticoke, which are staffed 24 hours a day, already cover the township in the evenings and nights for the most part, Roke said, because Newport Township only staffs an ambulance crew from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The change, Roke said, was spurred by a letter from the Nanticoke Ambulance Association telling the township it was canceling its mutual billing agreement with its ambulance company, which would result in residents receiving bills from both organizations, leading to higher costs.

The canceled agreement stems from a financial dispute between the two ambulance organizations, which has mushroomed into a lawsuit. The two organizations split the payment from bills on advanced calls, and the Nanticoke association has accused the Newport Township company of owing it more than $30,000.

The spat nearly led to disaster in January, when a little girl suffering a seizure had to wait for an advanced life support ambulance to arrive from more than 10 miles away in Shickshinny, because the Newport Township Fireman's Community Ambulance had decided to bypass the much closer unit based in Nanticoke, less than 2 miles away.

The debacle made headlines and embarrassed the commissioners, who quickly switched back to the ambulance in Nanticoke. Roke and Commissioner John Wilkes Jr. sidestepped questions asking if the change was related to that incident, saying Nanticoke's ambulances would provide the township with better service.

But some argue against that stance. Dan Kowalski, the father of Jason Kowalski and a longtime member of the Newport Township Fireman's Community Ambulance, warned that response times to emergencies in the township would increase due to the other responsibilities of the Nanticoke ambulances, which serve as the backup for several other communities. He noted that ambulances from the township often answer calls in Nanticoke because of those other commitments.

Township commissioners and Nanticoke ambulance officials responded that the ambulance in Newport Township often isn't able to answer calls even during its staffed day shift, while Nanticoke will provide 24/7 service.

The township does not supply any funding to either ambulance organization, but does currently give Newport Township Fireman's Community Ambulance space in the administration building for its trucks and offices. As it stands now, they will be getting an eviction notice in a few weeks.

Jason Kowalski, who admitted the organization has been struggling with the county-wide problem of a lack of volunteers, said it may be forced to sell its trucks to pay off its outstanding debts.

Ambulance companies make money through billable calls, state grants and community fundraising, such as membership drives.

As a result of the change, individual ambulance memberships, which protect residents from out-of-pocket fees not covered by insurance on ambulance bills, will increase from $35 to $45, and family memberships will go from $45 to $75, but the Nanticoke Ambulance Association will honor valid memberships from Newport Township, President Bernie Norieka said.

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