‘EMS is not a luxury.’ Municipalities continue work to ensure Port Matilda EMS survives
During a nearly three hour long meeting of the Upper Bald Eagle/Halfmoon Council of Governments Tuesday night, the five member municipalities agreed to continue the conversation to ensure the Port Matilda EMS survives.
In November 2022, the Port Matilda EMS announced its plan to close within three months, adding to a growing list of EMS providers across the state forced to close because of declines in personnel. Days after that announcement, the EMS company posted on Facebook that it was “holding off on formal notification of our intent to close for a few weeks while we investigate all possible avenues.”
In the months since, the municipalities have been trying to come up with a way to help. The Upper Bald Eagle/Halfmoon COG called a special meeting Tuesday at the Julian Community Center to discuss the viability and future funding of the EMS. The five member municipalities — Port Matilda Borough and Taylor, Halfmoon, Huston and Worth townships — participated in the meeting.
After hearing a presentation on what the Port Matilda EMS is facing, the five municipalities shared what they have done and plan to do to help. They all unanimously voted to hold another meeting in February to continue the discussion.
Jack Bonsell, a member of the Port Matilda EMS, said they have a budget shortfall due to a number of factors, including poor insurance reimbursements and a lack of steady income streams. The EMS has a wheelchair van that they use and litter transports, both of which are very profitable, but they don’t have the staff to cover it.
For the Port Matilda EMS, fully staffed is about 10 employees. They currently have two part-time employees and one volunteer EMT. There is an EMT shortage, but it’s also hard to attract people for $11/hour, Bonsell said. Municipalities have indicated that part of their solution should help the EMS increase their hourly pay rate to be more competitive.
The current budget is $315,000, which includes payroll, workers comp, payroll taxes and utilities. The EMS does not currently get full funding from the five municipalities. Collectively, the municipalities gave the EMS $44,000 this year, Bonsell said.
“EMS is not a luxury. We’re all going to need it at one time. EMS needs improved involvement from everyone that is served in the five municipalities,” Bonsell said. Citizens can be more involved, he said, by joining the EMS, completing the annual membership, raising awareness, contacting their representatives about insurance reimbursement issues and by attending the monthly EMS meetings, 6 p.m. the second Thursday of the month at the EMS building, 402 S, High St. Port Matilda.
The EMS company has sent out the 2023 memberships. The goal is to surpass the 20% return rate they had last year. A single membership is $65 and a family membership is $75.
Possible solutions
Halfmoon Township Supervisor Ron Servello said Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, secured a $150,000 grant for the Port Matilda EMS. Conklin’s office did not respond to an email Wednesday about the grant, the amount or what it could be used for.
Servello said he’s also working with the Centre County government to get additional funding.
Huston Township Supervisor Karen Dillon-Ballock said “our hands are kind of tied this year,” since the 2023 municipal budgets have already been approved.
“We all are in agreement that we need to continue to support Port Matilda EMS, it’s just a matter of how we’re going to do it budget wise and coming together as a group to figure out what each municipality can pay for, and whatever else funding you can get whether it be grants or the memberships, you can’t always leave it all on the townships because we have budgets that, you know, we have roads to pave, we have fire companies to support,” Dillon-Ballock said.
Mark Lively, Port Matilda borough council president, said the council voted to provide $1,100 to sponsor someone to attend an EMT class, with the stipulation that they sign a two-year contract with the Port Matilda EMS.
The borough also voted to give the EMS the full year’s payment at once, rather than quarterly, with the hopes that they’ll be able to keep their doors open longer, Lively said.
“For a long-term solution, we have started to look at an emergency services tax to provide additional funding into the EMS but because of the pace that government moves, this is not going to happen until next year at the earliest,” Lively said.
The next COG meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Port Matilda Fire Hall, 101 E Plank Road, Port Matilda.
This story was originally published January 23, 2023 at 3:31 PM.
