South Windsor Town Council to Discuss Support for Ambulance Law

The South Windsor Town Council on Monday evening is expected to discuss a resolution that supports a bill in the state legislature that would to enable municipalities to choose their ambulance providers.

State law currently provides only limited circumstances under which a municipality may remove or change its ambulance service.

South Windsor town officials for years have called on its ambulance provider - South Windsor Ambulance Corps - to upgrade its service from basic life support - or EMT service - to paramedic service - also known as “advanced life support.”

But SWAC President Larry Gorman told the council on several occasions that such an upgrade would be cost prohibitive - between $500,000 and $700,000.

However, Town Manager Matthew Galligan said several months ago that the town could receive advanced life support from another ambulance service for no additional cost.

Since then, the town has taken several steps to obtain advanced life support, including preparing to send out requests for proposal, as well as have its state legislators lobby to change the law to enable towns to have more flexibility to change ambulance providers.

The Town Council appears poised to move forward with supporting the change in legislation despite the South Windsor Ambulance Corps’ announcement last Thursday that it was upgrading its service to advanced life support.

In a telephone interview last week, Galligan questioned the timing of the announcement, stating that the town planned to go forward with the RFP process.

“If it’s a great program, then we’ll let them bid like everybody else,” said Galligan. “Why wasn’t it done before this?”

The level of care provided by South Windsor’s ambulance service has been an ongoing issue for years, culminating with the death of 15-year-old Hannah Patrie in June 2012.

A notice of intent to sue the town claims that South Windsor’s first responders were negligent in their alleged lack of preparedness and slow response time.

The resolution, which is proposed by Town Councilor Keith Yagaloff, states that municipalities “have no say over who provides emergency medical service to the Town of South Windsor and at what level.”

The rest of the resolution reads as follows:

WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of South Windsor has concerns about the delivery of emergency medical services in the Town of South Windsor; and

WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of South Windsor has been informed that in order to provide advanced life support service in the Town of South Windsor, the State Statutes would need to be changed because they presently restrict the Town; and

WHEREAS, the Town Council has come to understand that they have no say over who provides that emergency medical service to the Town of South Windsor and at what level; and

WHEREAS, currently House Bill No. 6518 is before the State Legislature and if the bill passes, it would change the State Statutes to allow municipalities the ability to choose the level of emergency medical services they deem appropriate within their community at the lowest most effective cost

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Council of the Town of South Windsor hereby supports House Bill No. 6518 entitled “An Act Concerning Emergency Medical Services” and requests the State Legislature to adopt this Bill.