County takes next steps for fly car program

CHENANGO COUNTY – Although the concept of fly cars may help lessen the severity of the ambulance crisis, members of the county Safety and Rules Committee agreed Wednesday that the fly cars would not be a direct replacement of Superior Ambulance.

In late September, Superior announced it would be pulling its last ambulance from operation in Chenango County Oct. 25, saying that operating in the area was not profitable. In an attempt to alleviate the subsequent ambulance shortage, the county has approved a program to place fly cars in operation throughout the county.

The fly car program would call for county-employed paramedics to drive medically equipped vehicles to an emergency scene, where they would meet an ambulance and help transport and care for the patients.

On Wednesday, members of the Safety and Rules Committee met with County Emergency Management Deputy Director Matt Beckwith to discuss putting a program together.

“This committee has been charged by the Board of Supervisors, who approved the fly car concept, to put together a program based on the service and to refer it to the Finance Committee in order to get it in the budget for 2008,” said Committee Chairman Alton P. Doyle, R-Guilford.

The committee discussed the proposed fly car solution at length prior to Beckwith’s appearance, and while they identified several possible problems – including the cost recovery system and the possibility of an individual being billed by multiple agencies, a continued difficulty finding ambulances to meet the fly cars in the field and continued problems finding volunteers to man the ambulances – they determined the fly cars would work to alleviate the problem.

County supervisors attended the meeting to discuss other possible solutions. Pharsalia Town Supervisor Dennis Brown suggested the possibility of creating fire districts that would encompass several towns. Brown pointed out that while his town could not afford to spend $160,000 on a new, fully-equipped ambulance, if the cost was spread out over four towns, it would be more feasible.