Malverne Ambulance Corps Moves Into New Headquarters

After more than four decades of service, responding to more than 18,000 emergency calls, and after years of fundraising, tense negotiations and much waiting, the finally has a place to call home.

After signing a lease with the village, MVAC recently moved into the headquarters Malverne erected for them at 11 Hempstead Avenue (adjacent to the building) and will be holding a grand opening celebration there on Saturday, July 14, at noon.

The event, which all residents are encouraged to attend, will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a membership drive, raffles, refreshments and food, including a cake donated by the . MVAC is also re-launching its juniors program at the event. Village officials including Malverne Mayor Patricia Norris McDonald, local VIPs, clergy, state and county government representatives will be in attendance.

The Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps was founded in 1968 when a child was struck by a car and had to wait nearly 30 minutes for a Nassau County ambulance to respond. A group of residents who witnessed the incident decided it should never happen again and with the help of the Malverne Lions Club, MVAC was born. Today, the corps responds to an average of 450 calls a year within the village of Malverne, and parts of Lynbrook, Valley Stream, Franklin Square and the Southern State Parkway.

But throughout the time, MVAC was the only Corps in New York State without its own headquarters, and had to conduct its meetings and store its supplies, paperwork, and the ambulances themselves at numerous places, including outside members' homes, the Malverne Library, the Malverne Police Department and a garage near the DPW.

The headquarters will not only give them a central location to meet and store and maintain their equipment, but it will also enable them to recruit more members. As the years progressed and volunteer membership decreased, it became necessary to look for members residing outside of the village, and to build a headquarters to house them while on duty.

“We have had people interested in joining the MVAC who we always had to turn away because they live too far from the village and could not respond quickly enough to an emergency call,” explained Chairman John McKenna.  “We now have the capability to consider so many candidates because of the building.” 

When MVAC is in service, their average response time for an emergency within the village is often less than three minutes.

The Ambulance Corps' new headquarters was built over the past two years with financial assistance from the Village of Malverne and is a village-owned property. It is big enough to house the MVAC’s two ambulances, and has two offices, a meeting room, kitchen and basement. 

“We are grateful for everyone who has been a key supporter in bringing our new building to reality,” added McKenna.  “Special recognition goes to the relentless effort of our membership and the village government for working together despite some trying times. It was well worth the effort as we now have the capability to better the services we offer to the residents.”

Anyone interested in joining the MVAC will be trained and certified free of charge. For more information, please contact the MVAC at president@malvernevac.com or 516-599-1686.