West York EMS

WYEMS Board of Directors,

1st row left to right.
Kay Reigarts, Dennis Reigart, Rod Drawbaugh, Dave Wood, Bill Meals

2nd row left to right
Art Smith, Steve Smith, Bryan Peterson, Bill Niehenke, Jeff Laird

Chairmen’s Message—
Greetings on behalf of West York Ambulance, Inc. It is our privilege to serve as the primary emergency medical services provider in both West York Borough and West Manchester Township. West York Ambulance provides both Basic and Advanced Life Support on a 24- hour basis with a staff who is committed to providing high quality emergency medical service whenever and wherever you need it.
In last year’s membership newsletter, I talked about the need for emergency medical service providers to combine resources to achieve cost savings as reimbursements shrink and costs rise. That need to regionalize still exists and conversations continue among several providers, including West York Ambulance, Inc., to move forward in developing a new delivery model for emergency medical services in York County.
The talks have been fruitful, but progress has been slow. There are many hoops to jump through, from the state level to the local municipality level. In addition, there is a rich history with most ambulance services in York County that must be accounted for in any regionalization plan. As these conversations continue, and new models are developed, we will keep you informed of our progress. Rest assured that our guiding principal as we engage in these conversations is you, the patient.
We thank you for your support of West York Ambulance. We look forward to providing high-quality emergency medical services to the citizens of West York Borough and West Manchester Township well into the future.

Sincerely,

Rodney E. Drawbaugh
Chairmen of the Board

“To provide a professional level of pre-hospital basic and advanced life support to the populace of West York Borough and West Manchester Township and surrounding municipalities.” Our mission statement to you our residents.

THANK YOU!!

I would like to begin this year’s note with a THANK YOU to all of the residents of West York Borough and West Manchester Township for supporting the West York Ambulance in 2015. Without your support we really could not survive and keep “your” ambulance service, which we feel, is the best in York County. Please consider joining again this year, and if you have never joined please consider supporting us in 2016.

This year was a banner year as we have responded to more calls than ever before. As of this writing we are on track for over 3,400 responses an increase of over 5% from 2014. These calls represent emergency “911” calls, not routine transportations. We also respond to mutual aid calls to our neighboring municipalities and of our 3,400 responses over 600 are serving those municipalities. Even with the responses out of our first-due area we maintain an extremely good response of over 90% in West York or West Manchester. A problem we continually have to deal with is the need for more EMTs and Paramedics. It has become extremely difficult to man our ambulances because of the need for more qualified EMS personnel. Since more ambulance organizations are now having to supply paramedics for their service it has become extremely difficult to have enough. We are managing and will continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the borough and township are covered 24/7.

To maintain our status of keeping our equipment the most up-to-date we purchased a 2015 Lifeline ambulance this is our 2nd new purchase in the past 3 years. For 2016 we have budgeted approximately $25,000 to purchase a new heart monitor to upgrade our 3rd ambulance and have all 3 ambulances equipped and supplied the same.

As residents of West York Borough and West Manchester Township you have the opportunity to continue to make our organization one of the finest in the county. Your continued support through memberships and donations allows us to maintain our building, the best ambulances, and up-to-date equipment. With all of this support we will continue to serve you in the manner in which you are accustomed. By replying with your completed membership you will help us financially. Thank you and have a great 2016.

We are currently hiring ALS providers.
Current paramedic/PHRN cert, PALS, ACLS, CPR, Hazmat awareness, IS100-200-700-800, EMSVO.

http://westyorkambulance1.org/employment/

2016 Ambulance Club Memberships should be sent out via US Mail within the next few weeks.

Greetings on behalf of West York Ambulance, Inc. It is our privilege to serve as the primary emergency medical services provider in both West York Borough and West Manchester Township.
The past year has seen some major changes in the EMS landscape in York County. With WellSpan-York Hospital ceasing its’ Advanced Life Support team, known as Medic 97, in January; services such as West York Ambulance began filling the gap. West York Ambulance now provides both Basic and Advanced Life Support on a 24 hour basis with a staff who is committed to providing quality service whenever and wherever you need it.
Unfortunately, decreasing reimbursements for emergency medical services are squeezing many large and small ambulance services to the limit. As the volunteer ranks diminish, most services must now depend on paid staff to cover the calls driving costs higher. Other costs, such as equipment, supplies and fuel, continue to increase annually. These increasing costs make it harder for smaller ambulance services with a low call volume to make ends meet. Many ambulance services ask their municipal government to make up the shortfall, but these local governments also have financial issues and are reluctant to raise taxes for emergency services support. So, what is the solution to this problem?
In one word, regionalization. Combining resources, and consolidating smaller ambulance organizations into larger ones, is the only model that can achieve significant cost savings as reimbursements shrink and costs escalate.
Thinking outside of the box as EMS providers is paramount to getting to sick and injured patients in the fastest, most efficient and economical manner. That means that the historical structure of ambulance service provision in York County will not survive…because it is not the best choice for you the patient.
To that end, West York Ambulance is actively engaged in conversations to spur this regionalization effort forward. We are proud of our history as an ambulance service, but understand the need for change to meet the modern marketplace. As these conversations continue, and new models are developed, we will keep you informed of our progress. Rest assured that our guiding principal as we engage in these conversations is you, the patient.
We thank you for your continued support of West York Ambulance. We look forward to continue providing high-quality emergency medical services well into the future.

Sincerely,

Rodney E. Drawbaugh
Chairman of the Board

As we end another year at West York Ambulance we have to give thanks to so many for making this the great organization it is. One, I would like to thank all the employees who take the training and respond to the calls to help everyone that needs our service. These are not just people who come in and sit down at a desk to do a job, these people come in everyday not knowing what their day will consist of. Their main focus is basically West York Ambulance’s Mission Statement, “To provide a professional level of pre-hospital basic and advanced life support to the populace of West York Borough and West Manchester Township and surrounding municipalities.” They are dedicated and care about you and their profession.
As residents of West York Borough or West Manchester Township you have the opportunity to continue to make our organization one of the finest in the county. Your continued support through memberships and donations allows us to maintain our facility, the best ambulances, and up-to-date equipment. With all of this support we will continue to serve you in the manner in which you are accustomed. Thank you to all who are supporting us.
This year we were able to purchase our second Lucas, an automated CPR device. This allows our medics and EMTs to focus on other functions when an individual is in cardiac arrest. This does not come cheaply as the Lucas cost over $13,000, but, it is well worth it as the unit has helped with numerous successful resuscitations thus saving lives. Purchasing this was through the efforts of our membership campaign and donations.
This is our first full year employing our own paramedics and we feel it was a successful year. We are projecting our call volume to be over 3,300 calls. While we’re doing in excess of 3,300 calls over 500 of these were mutual aid calls in other municipalities but we still responded to over 95% of the calls in West York and West Manchester. While our focus is the West York and West Manchester Townships be assured our focus is always on professional treatment of the individuals we are dispatched to assist in their time of need not putting a boundary on our response area.
By replying with your completed membership you will again help us with financial support to continue to give the finest possible service to you the residents of West York Borough and West Manchester Township. Thank you and have a great 2015…

The West York Ambulance board of directors are comprised of 9 individuals with varied backgrounds and medical experience. This group is making the decisions that have kept West York Ambulance one of the top ambulance organizations in York County.