By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN – Municipal officials are weighing their options for the future provision of first aid services in Allentown.
One option could be to sign a shared services agreement with neighboring Robbinsville, according to a discussion among the mayor and Borough Council members on April 18.
The agreement would provide Allentown with 24-hour, seven-day-a-week coverage from an ambulance crew based in Robbinsville and contracted through Capital Health System, according to borough officials.
The need for action has come to the council table because representatives of the Allentown First Aid Squad have informed municipal officials there may come a time when the squad can no longer employ paid per diem staff and the sole reliance on volunteers may no longer be possible, according to the mayor and council members.
The first aid squad has been serving residents of Allentown and Upper Freehold Township since 1943.
Borough officials said they had been informed by the first aid squad that because of funding issues, the squad would have to suspend its paid per diem responders effective May 1.
However, Mike Conroy, the squad’s president, said on April 20 that the per diem responders will now be employed through Sept. 30, giving the squad, Allentown officials and their counterparts in Upper Freehold additional time to come up with a long-term solution.
The per diem responders answer calls from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., volunteers answer calls for assistance.
Allentown provides financial aid of about $24,000 per year to the first aid squad. Upper Freehold Township provides financial aid of about $66,000 per year to the organization, according to Conroy and Allentown officials.
The first aid squad raises between $40,000 and $45,000 per year in donations, Conroy said in an earlier interview. The per diem employees cost the squad about $130,000 per year in salaries ($11,000 per month), he added.
During the April 18 meeting, Councilman Rob Schmitt said the first aid squad’s officers “may be looking at putting a new system in place. They are running the danger of conflict between full-time (paid responders) and people who have been there for generations (as volunteers).
“We need to be there for them; helping them to create a plan of stability. They are at a crisis point,” he said, adding that officials from Allentown and Upper Freehold Township need to address the issue.
“The last thing we want is for someone to call (for assistance) and no one is (available in Allentown), or for the person to be told that help is coming from Freehold or from Hamilton Township,” Schmitt said. “There is a level of urgency here that needs to be addressed.”
Councilwoman Johnna Stinemire said, “I think (the first aid situation) is too far gone financially to be saved.”
Stinemire said Robbinsville officials are interested in signing a shared service agreement with Allentown.
Council President Wil Borkowski said Allentown and Upper Freehold Township officials should attempt to work out a solution with the first aid squad.
Resident John Elder said “it is imperative for the borough to come up with an alternative.”
Mayor Greg Westfall said the shared services agreement that is under consideration calls for a $20,000 annual payment from Allentown to Robbinsville, for three years, on a renewable deal. He said Robbinsville’s contracted service provider would bill the patient’s insurance company for payment.
Conroy said New Jersey municipalities are not required to provide emergency medical services coverage. Municipalities are required to provide law enforcement and fire coverage, he said.
He said representatives of all three parties – the first aid squad, Allentown and Upper Freehold – need to get together to discuss the matter.
“We started this process in 2016. We can’t have this drag on for another six months,” Conroy said.
