Private ambulance gets a boost to move into Chenango; fly car plan awaits decision

NORWICH – A regional arm of the New York State Department of Health is in full support of Cooperstown Medical Transport (CMT) operating an ambulance in Chenango County.

The Susquehanna Regional EMS Council Thursday recommended to the health department that CMT, based in Delaware and Otsego counties, be given an emergency permit to expand its coverage immediately into Chenango.

The emergency permit, if approved in Albany in the coming weeks, would be good for 60 days. It would allow CMT to take calls locally while awaiting approval for a permanent certificate from the department. That process could take at least three months, local fire and EMS officials estimate.

A complaint was filed last week with the health department against the Cooperstown-based ambulance for handling transport calls in the area without state approval. However, local leaders and EMS coordinators say CMT has been helpful since Superior Ambulance stopped taking calls Oct. 25 and will become vital to EMS operations in the future.

Officials with the private ambulance service will be giving a presentation Tuesday to the full Chenango County Board of Supervisors.

The board, after hearing CMT’s plan, is also expected to vote whether or not to implement a county-operated EMS system, known as the “fly car.”