Canaan
Beginning on Jan. 1, emergency calls in Canaan and portions of the Mascoma Valley will be handled by Canaan Emergency Medical Services, a new municipal agency that will be operated by many of the same members who make up the outgoing Canaan Ambulance Service, which will stop responding to 911 calls.
The change is designed to save Canaan residents and others from paying the steep price increase for service that Canaan Ambulance proposed for next year.
The organization had sought the increase to help it address staffing and funding problems. And while costs still will go up next year, the increase is thousands less than the nonprofit proposed, according to Town Administrator Mike Samson.
“Frankly, our contribution of $65,000 in the past has been certainly very inexpensive compared to the level of service they provide,” Samson said last week.
Under a verbal agreement reached earlier this month, the town will pay $110,000 for the assets of Canaan Ambulance, including its three ambulances and equipment, according to Leif Jopek, president of the nonprofit service. In turn, Canaan Ambulance will use part of those funds to pay off the remainder of a $450,000 loan from 2013 that was used to construct an addition onto the Canaan Town Building, which also houses fire and police operations.
“We kind of feel at Canaan FAST like it’s kind of our last hurrah donation to the town,” Jopek said last week. “They’re getting much more than they’re paying for essentially.”
In addition to Canaan, the ambulance service responds to calls in Orange, as well as parts of Dorchester, and during weekdays in Grafton. Those services will continue, both Samson and Jopek said.
The new Emergency Medical Services budget will total $363,000 next year, Samson said. Of that, about $125,000 will come from Canaan, another $135,000 will be paid by health insurance reimbursements and $65,000 will come from donations.
The remainder will be paid by Dorchester, Orange and Grafton, which can expect their contributions to double in the coming years, Samson said. He estimated that Dorchester will be expected to pay about $5,700, and Orange will pay roughly $10,000 to the new service.
Grafton’s contract for service ends next year, and its contribution is expected to be renegotiated.
The new service will be led temporarily by Canaan Fire Chief Bill Bellion, who has been a member of Canaan Ambulance for 11 years.
A new chief can be elected by members in early January.
Bellion, who expects to run for the chief of service title, said on Sunday that he hopes to ensure “that we have compassion for our patients and that we exercise a lot of cooperation in working with each other.”
He added that about 16 people will make the transition from the nonprofit to the town-run service.
“Our biggest thing will be to continue to provide service to the town at the best level we can,” Bellion said.
The agreement comes after a monthslong negotiation, kicked off when Canaan Ambulance asked its towns to increase their contributions to the nonprofit.
The group faced a shortage of volunteers, rising equipment and training costs, and low health insurance reimbursements.
The ambulance service was formed in 1976 as an all-volunteer venture, but fewer people are willing or capable of devoting the money and hours volunteering now requires, according to a letter Canaan Ambulance sent to its member communities.
The nonprofit has only two volunteers, with its remaining first responders paid an hourly rate to remain on call. A full-time employee was also hired in 2010 but officials say it’s still difficult to staff every emergency call.
“It has become increasingly difficult to staff for adequate coverage as our members are retiring, burning out or cutting back on their commitment to the company,” said the letter, which predicts the need for another full-time employee.
The ambulance service is also paying more for training and equipment, with a single EMT class costing about $1,500. The nonprofit also maintains three ambulances, each worth about $160,000.
At the same time, more patients are incapable of paying ambulance bills, the letter said.
A large portion of people are either on Medicaid or Medicare, which caps ambulance reimbursements at “laughably low rates,” it said. And others are on high-deductible health plans that require them to pay many costs out of pocket.
So, Canaan Ambulance proposed that Canaan increase its annual contribution to $156,360, up from $65,000. Orange was asked to pay $13,995, a $7,375 increase, and Dorchester would pay $8,010, which amounts to a $4,450 increase.
Every town expressed a willingness to pay the new rates except for Canaan, which kicked off months of sometimes contentious negotiations, according to Jopek.
The Canaan Selectboard countered that offer this summer, saying it would be willing to pay $125,000, while ambulance officials argued that figure would still leave the nonprofit short. The groups also argued over whether the town should hold a seat on Canaan Ambulance’s board of directors.
Ultimately, the two brokered a deal where the town would start its own service using the assets purchased from Canaan Ambulance.
“I think that they’re mixed feelings because the (Canaan Ambulance) board doesn’t think this is actually a better option in every way,” said Jopek, who doesn’t intend on joining the town-run organization. “There are certainly benefits to it.”
The town will save some money on bookkeeping services, and its insurance will cover the ambulance service at a lower cost, Jopek said, adding he would have liked to see it continue as a private venture.
“All the same employees as far as I know are going to transition and be part of the new service,” he said. “And the communities won’t really see a change in the actual service provided.”
As for Canaan Ambulance, the nonprofit will continue on, providing training for first responders, education for community members and scholarships for students of medicine, Jopek said.
The group also hopes to continue fundraising to help the new Canaan Emergency Medical Services purchase equipment
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.