By Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
Nearly three decades of emergency response efforts by the paid career staff of Hillsborough EMS could come to an end this May, after the township committee approved a contract for those same services to be provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Health Network., The committee, minus Committeeman Greg Burchette, voted unanimously in favor of awarding a five-year contract to the regional healthcare provider, replacing the township’s current provider Hillsborough Emergency Medical Services Corporation (HEMs), in the process., The approval came after roughly three hours of impassioned pleas to reconsider the move from a packed room of residents on Tuesday., “Your decision affects the social fabric of our community,” former Hillsborough Board of Education member Thuy Anh Le told officials prior to the vote., HEMs Chief David Gwin declined to comment on the decision at the request of his attorney, citing potential litigation., Over the past few months, residents and the governing body have sparred over the committee’s efforts to replace what consulting firm Fitch and Associates described in a September 2014 study commissioned by the township as an “unsustainable” operation., Since 1955, the township has been served by Hillsborough EMS, though it originally started as a volunteer operation at that time. Committeeman Frank DelCore said the paid squad was formed in 1988 “with the sole purpose of having paid EMTs” cover shifts that the volunteers couldn’t., Volunteers cover the township’s night shift from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., while the career staff operates during the day., With today’s economic climate making it harder for EMS operations across the country to find a steady stream of volunteers, DelCore said the make-up of the township’s EMS squad changed over the years., “Volunteer EMTs are a scarce breed,” he said. “Over time, most of the process that has gone on has essentially shifted to all the shifts being covered primarily by EMTs who provide paid coverage.”, Using the 2014 Fitch study as a backdrop, officials said the township has been deliberately weighing its options., “The township is not convinced that the current organization was able to meet the standards in the report and felt compelled to evaluate alternatives available to the provision of these EMS services,” DelCore said., After what was described as multiple attempts to work with HEMs in addressing the study’s findings, a public bid for services was sought last December., RWJ was the only company to respond to the public call for bids., Though some concerns were raised as to whether volunteers would want to continue devoting their time to the township if they were just going to serve as backup, officials said the bid also calls for cooperation with the volunteer, non-profit Hillsborough Rescue Squad., In addition, officials said RWJ wanted to provide volunteers with additional training opportunities and give those volunteers a chance to respond first to calls if needed., “The portion that is volunteer-based, essentially will continue and probably flourish more than it has today,” DelCore said., As officials considered RWJ’s bid, residents worried about the potential impact replacing HEMs with the hospital’s EMS program would have on response times., “Two months ago I was hit by a car [in New Brunswick]. It took [RWJ] 20 minutes, even though I was two miles away from their hospital, to pick me up off the side of the road,” resident Dave Rainey said. “Hillsborough EMS has always been at my house within five minutes.”, Along with slow response times, residents said that they would rather have HEMs responding to emergencies, since they are more familiar with the area and recognizable by locals., Whether the hospital would always be able to feasibly respond to a situation also came under question., Last year, according to call volume data collected by HEMs, there were 3,501 calls for service in 2016. That number shows a slight increase from the 3,357 calls in 2015, but a marked spike in calls since the 3,002 calls in 2011., According to the bid from RWJ, the hospital committed to supplying two ambulances to the township on a 24-hour basis, with two additional ambulances stationed on the municipality’s borders as backups., Additionally, the bid cites “13 ambulances available within Somerset and Middlesex counties” as additional resources., Officials said HEMs currently provides two vehicles in the township during the day and one crew on hand overnight., Though the bid from RWJ covers basic life support and standby services for community events, other services like extrication and water rescue will be handled by the township’s fire companies., Ultimately, Suraci said the push to replace HEMs was predicated on the need to find a more “sustainable” operation., As a non-profit organization, HEMs receives approximately $300,000 from the township per year. It is also supplied with several vehicles from the township., By contrast, the bid from RWJ was offered at no cost to the township, instead offering to make its money through bill collections from residents who would use their services and their health insurance providers., “What we have here is a situation where we have a comprehensive bid that was submitted, we have one response and that response is not only compliant, but it provides significant services to the municipality, as well as significant savings,” DelCore said. “It’s the same private organization and same structure that we’re dealing with in today’s municipality.”, Along with potential savings, Suraci cited a finding by the township that HEMs had taken out a $550,000 mortgage on its main building, which was provided for free by the township, about 10 years ago and refinanced again in recent years. Suraci said there was “no indication” that the principal was being paid down., In addition, an audit found that there were loans upwards of $160,000 that were taken out by HEMs., During a recent meeting with HEMs officials, Suraci said the township asked the organization what its financial plans were for those debts. They were met with “silence,” he said., “Where did almost $700,000 go? [We got] silence. That has me very concerned,” he said., Committeeman Douglas Tomson said he shared some of those financial concerns., “I have to be concerned about the viability of the rescue squad to continue,” Tomson said. “I don’t take this lightly, as I have a lot of friends on the rescue squad … but when I sit across from someone, ask direct questions and don’t get answers for years now, for years, I have to vote based on what’s in front of me.”, Moving forward, officials said HEMs will have two months to “work with RWJ to allow for a seamless migration” of services., “We really want to make sure it’s a smooth transition,” Suraci said.
