EMS Sees Record Call Volume In Mahwah, Amid Volunteer Staffing Shortage

MAHWAH, NJ — Mahwah EMS received a record number of calls in 2021, at 1,775, and the volunteer agency is on pace to hit nearly 2,000 calls this year. An increased call volume is concurrent with a drop-off in volunteers, straining the ambulance service's capacity, Chief Carissa Stricker said.

"We have been getting slammed this year," Stricker said. "It is just nonstop."

Stricker said the litany of calls are not attributable to any one cause or age group, and that the increase is "across the board." However, she said she has seen a problem with non-emergency call volume, that is, calls from people requesting free, non-emergent transport to a hospital, or just a welfare check, when the caller or another household member has the means to drive them to the hospital on their own.

Her concern is that patients, in doing this, can take advantage of the EMS system. And although Stricker emphasized that she does not want to discourage anyone from calling, she said she wants people to "act responsibly" and understand that if a call is placed, a neighbor with a legitimate emergency could be affected.

"There is a common misconception that you are seen faster if you call for an ambulance," Stricker said. "That is not the case. You are triaged the same way when we bring you in versus when you come in on your own."

Mahwah EMS receives supplemental assistance from New Jersey Mobile HealthCare and the Valley Hospital's EMS, non-volunteer ambulance services, and mutual aid from other volunteer services. But if the Mahwah EMS is tied up with calls, an ambulance response may take longer.

Just last month, Mahwah EMS saw 180 ambulance calls, down three from the single-month record set in July this year, and that is an especially large call volume for an ambulance service that, this year alone, lost several call takers who went on to complete other education or career requirements.

Formed in 2013 as a merger of Company 1 and Company 4, the EMS had not yet seen a call volume of this size, and is in need of volunteer ambulance drivers and EMTs to staff the agency, Stricker said.

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