Having been denied independent status, the Cobleskill Rescue Squad is looking at other options.
The state Department of Health refused to transfer the Certificate of Need from the Village of Cobleskill to the squad, the necessary move for independence.
The Health Department denied the CON transfer because the squad is a municipal one––the Village of Cobleskill––and therefore not transferable under state rules, according to Rescue Squad Captain Mike Lent.
The all-volunteer squad sought to go independent in order to bill patients and hire staff. By adding staffers who would serve with volunteers, the squad could answer more calls.
Answering more calls is essential. The state wants squads to answer 80 percent of its calls this year, 85 percent next year and 90 in 2026.
Cobleskill answered 65 percent in 2023, “and we’re struggling now,” Squad Captain Mike Lent said.
If the Cobleskill squad doesn’t meet those future metrics, the state might not renew the village’s Certificate of Need when it comes up for renewal in 2026, Mr. Lent said.
“Cobleskill Rescue would no longer exist,” he said. “It’s sad.”
There are other possibilities. An official with the state Health Department offered three options:
•The village, as the Certificate of Need holder, hire staff to work with squad volunteers.
•The village contract with the rescue squad so that the squad could hire staffers.
•Contract with a staff leasing company for staff to cover calls.
Mr. Lent feels the village won’t be willing to hire staff because of the cost. However, he noted that revenue made from the squad billing patients should cover whatever the costs of hiring or contracting are.
Mr. Lent and the Rescue Squad board want to meet with Mayor Becky Stanton-Terk and the village board, though a meeting hasn’t been scheduled.
“Right now, we’re staying the way we are and answering the calls we can,” Mr. Lent said.