By JOE LoTEMPLIO
Staff Writer
May 13, 2008 04:00 am
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WEST CHAZY -- Residents of Chazy and West Chazy will have additional emergency medical coverage thanks to a new agreement with CVPH Medical Center.
Paid emergency medical technicians from CVPH will cover the Chazy and West Chazy fire districts from the Beekmantown fire station.
They will be on call, available for all 911 calls, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.
The move was designed to give both districts more coverage during day and early evening hours when volunteer responses can be slowed by a lack of available members.
"A lot of our EMTs work out of town during the day, so this is a win-win for us," Chazy Fire Chief Michael Cahoon said.
Both departments realized that with the number of volunteer EMTs dwindling, supplemental coverage was needed.
"This gives us a chance to be proactive," James Kelley, chairman of the West Chazy Fire Commissioners, said.
"We were relying on so few people we had to plan ahead."
Kelley said having paid staffers of their own in West Chazy would have been cost prohibitive.
Utilizing CVPH, which already covers several other towns in the county, was feasible.
"This is an example of where shared services can pay off," Kelley said.
Both Chazy and West Chazy will pay CVPH $12,000 per year for the coverage. CVPH will be allowed to transport and bill patients.
Michael Lagree, director of EMTs at CVPH, said Chazy and West Chazy will still need volunteers.
"Job one is patient care," Lagree said.
"This is not an us-versus-them situation. We are in this together to make this successful for everyone, and volunteers are still needed very much."
In addition to having technicians at the ready, CVPH crews will also have advanced-life-support equipment on hand.
"About 75 percent of our calls need ALS and we have to get it from CVPH anyway," West Chazy Fire Chief Tony Guillily said.
The agreement has been in place since March 5, and Lagree said it will be revisited at the end of the year.
"This is untested and we will monitor the volume of calls, but it is a partnership and so far it has been positive and effective," Lagree said.
jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
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Photos
Michael Lagree, director of EMTs at CVPH, addresses a meeting Monday during a discussion of the new plan to cover West Chazy and Chazy ambulance calls.