Decision prompted by cancellation of the current agreement by Monroe Ambulance, effective December 15, 2023.
Press release
To ensure Wyoming County residents have ongoing access to essential Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors approved the creation of a Countywide Ambulance program.
Their decision was the result of a two year-long process considering available options to deliver high quality ambulance services for residents. It was prompted by the cancellation of the current agreement by Monroe Ambulance, effective December 15, 2023.
Monroe Ambulance cited staffing, low reimbursement and inefficiencies due to the geographic
distance of Wyoming County from their operations headquarters in Rochester, NY as reasons for
the cancellation of the agreement.
In Wyoming County, Ambulance Services have traditionally been fulfilled by the trained and
dedicated volunteer agencies across Wyoming County and supplemented by Monroe Ambulance
to ensure residents receive the care they need in emergency situations and advanced care when
necessary. In addition, Monroe Ambulance provided medical transfer services for patients of
Wyoming County Community Health System.
“A county-wide Ambulance Services program will provide continued assistance, as Monroe
Ambulance has, for our dedicated Wyoming County first responders who diligently operate our
volunteer ambulance services. This team-work is essential for the public safety of all our
families, friends, and neighbors in their time of need,” said Wyoming County Board Chair,
Rebecca Ryan, Tuesday, October 10, 2023 following the regular monthly Board of Supervisors
meeting.
Statewide, county governments are facing similar challenges in maintaining Ambulance Service
systems, made more challenging by staffing shortages across all fields of healthcare. Further,
ambulance agencies face low reimbursement from insurance companies and complicated billing
procedures. NYS Senate Bill S1446A and NYS Assembly Bill A250 are under consideration to
ensure sustainability of ambulance services that serve communities across New York State.
“Due to the short time frame given to the Board of Supervisors, we have decided to form our
own county-wide ambulance service. This system will provide essential stabilizing support to the
volunteer service for the residents of Wyoming County. We thank the volunteer ambulance
services throughout the county for working with the Office of Emergency Management and
Director of Fire and Emergency Management, Brian Meyers, County Fire & EMS Coordinator,
Bill Streicher and Administrative Assistant (EMS) Mary Gibson for all the hard work they have
done to put this together for us,” said Supervisor May, T/Orangeville and Chairman of the
Wyoming County Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety Committee.
The Board of Supervisors authorized the creation of positions to staff the newly-created
Wyoming County Ambulance Services. In addition, approval was granted to begin the process
to purchase needed equipment and supplies.