Ambulance Corps, FD Work Together for Safer Madison

Residents may not know it, but a recent partnership between two Madison groups has made the borough a safer place for them to live.

Thanks to an agreement between the Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the Madison Fire Department, if the unthinkable happens and a resident needs emergency assistance, precious minutes will be saved to get vital care.

A number of firefighters, currently five, are certified Emergency Medical Technicians. Those firefighters now go out to medical emergency calls on Monday-Friday during the hours between 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., when the Corps needs the help the most.

"We are not a town-sponsored agency," Corps President Carole Glade said. "We are all totally volunteer on day and night crews. Nationwide, daytime coverage in volunteer is a challenge."

There is a duty crew of two people on call at all times. During daytime hours on weekdays–when most people work–that crew may be all the Corps has to respond to calls. When the first call goes out, it is called a Code 1. If while the duty crew is responding to the first call and a second call is toned out, it is what is called a Code 4.

That's where problems can start.

Prior to the partnership, Madison residents may have waited vital minutes–sometimes up to 30–before mutual aid from Florham Park or Chatham would arrive to the second call. That mutual aid was necessary because the duty crew had to conduct care and transport the first patient to the hospital. If there were no volunteers available to make the second call, mutual aid was the only way for residents to get care.

"That can delay attention to the patient," Glade said. "That is one of the reasons we were looking to do this."

Now that wait time is eliminated. Here is a real-life example of how the partnership works:

On April 8, a total of four medical calls came in Madison within an hour. The first call came and the duty call went to the site, as did the fire department. During this call, the help was more basic, as the firefighters could assist with the stretcher while the duty crew tended to the patient.

However, while they were getting the patient ready for the ambulance a second call came, causing a Code 4. The fire department went directly to the second call to offer instant response to stabilize the patient. The second ambulance in use by the Corps arrived to the second call and brought the patient to the hospital.

Now with both ambulances out for transport, a third call came in. The fire department arrived again to provide patient care for 15 minutes while waiting for the duty crew to come to the scene. Finally, a fourth call went out at a nursing care facility where the fire department again went to provide patient care for 30 minutes while waiting for a transport.

"It's a prime example of them being here and being able to respond and initiate care in the proper fashion," Corps Captain Jim DeVico said. "The patient is getting care."

Acting Fire Chief Lou DeRosa gives credit for the partnership to the Corps and retired Fire Chief Doug Atchison.

"It started out with trench rescue," DeVico said. "The fire department needed to get up to speed with trench rescue and some of that was medical training."

In consulting with the Corps, Atchison decided it would be more beneficial to have the firefighters trained as EMTs instead of just first response, basic first aid. That decision opened the doors to the now cemented partnership.

In the short term, it cost the department, and therefore borough, a little more money to purchase the equipment. The firefighters, however, do the training on their own time, not on overtime hours. Also, in the long term it may actually save the borough a good chunk of money, and help preserve its emergency care level, if not piece of mind.

As volunteerism continues to dwindle, it is possible that the borough may have had to contract out a third party, such as Atlantic Health, to provide medical service (towns such as Mount Olive have recently gone down that road). Now that possibility is much smaller.

"I live here in town; it's kind of personal," Glade said. "When I need an ambulance or my family needs one, I want someone to be there. Whether that person works for fire department or is a volunteer with the ambulance squad, I just want the right person to be there to help. When it comes down to it, it's all about the quality of patient care to the people of Madison."

It's also made a stronger bond between the two groups. DeRosa has said more than once that the department is there to assist and work for the Corps.

"It's really taken it to higher quality level," DeRosa said. "We've forged a good relationship."