The Elephant in the Ambulance

Back in mid-October, shortly after General Manager and Senior Editor Darla M. Youngs was hired—and just as staff writer Ted Mebust came on board—our offices received a call from a volunteer EMS worker in northern Otsego County. This person spoke at length with Mebust, laying out concerns about lack of coordination and cooperation between Otsego County’s paid EMS service and its volunteer squads, general discontent among the rank and file, and real worries that these issues would result in someone being seriously injured or, worse, dying. Mebust took extensive notes and a decision was made by staff to do nothing for the time being, but to pursue the storyline.

In the weeks that followed, we began to receive more calls and e-mails echoing the first caller’s concerns. EMS volunteers voiced similar thoughts in passing to our contributing writers. People involved in other ways with the fire departments and their EMS crews stopped by the office, again referencing lack of coordination and cooperation. One went so far as to herald the “collapse of the county ambulance service” as imminent.