Cobleskill village officials want more details before letting the Rescue Squad become independent.
Squad members last Tuesday asked the village board to transfer the Certificate of Need to the squad so that it can bill patients, hire staffers and answer more calls.
The all-volunteer squad expects to respond to 65 percent of its calls this year, member Justin Ball told board members, and wants to reach 80 percent next year and 95 percent by 2026.
“We’re struggling to answer calls now,” Mr. Ball said. “We’re spread pretty thin.
An increase in response rates can happen, Mr. Ball said, if the Rescue Squad can bill patients and hire a director of operations and paramedics. Money for those positions would come from billing patients.
“We want to have funding to have a paid staff to answer more calls,” Mr. Ball said.
“We want to be proactive.”
The Rescue Squad has 52 volunteers, including three paramedics and 18 emergency medical technicians.
“We want them involved,” Mr. Ball said, adding that the intent is to mesh paid staff with volunteers.
The goal is to start hiring January 1, he said.
Now connected with the Fire Department and housed at the firehouse, the squad is asking to stay at the firehouse until members find a new location.
The Rescue Squad owns one ambulance and wants the village to transfer ownership of the other ambulance and equipment to the squad.
The switch “would be great for Schoharie County,” Mr. Ball said.
“Patients lives are at stake.”
Mayor Becky Stanton-Terk was concerned about whether the squad could succeed financially on its own.
Rescue Squad Captain Mike Lent said squads in Lake George and Sydney have gone through similar transfers and been successful.
Still, Mayor Stanton-Terk said, the village should have more details, especially if it is transferring an ambulance and equipment.
“We need a business plan,” she said. “We want to make sure all the ducks are in a row and you’re set up for success.”
Mayor Stanton-Terk suggested having more discussions on the move.