By Alexander Dworkowitz
Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and EMT union presidents joined forces in Whitestone last Thursday to protest the city’s proposed changes in the handling of ambulances run by the Fire Department.
Faced with a 6 percent budget cut from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Fire Department has proposed eliminating 75 of their 589 daily ambulance tours.
The city has yet to release information about which ambulance tours would be cut. But Patrick Bahnken, president of the Uniformed EMTs and Paramedics Local 2507, said the city would be hurt regardless of where the cuts take their toll.
“Yesterday we were American heroes,” said Bahnken, speaking in front of the Ladder 144/Engine 295 firehouse at 12-49 149th St. in Whitestone. “Today we’re just another budget cut.”
Bahnken, Avella, and Don Rothschild, president of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union, said the slack would be taken up by private and volunteer ambulance companies.
While they praised the volunteer companies, they feared the effects from the city relying on more private companies.
“At least you know if you have a Fire Department EMT, you have large background checks,” said Rothschild.
Another concern was the motives of private ambulance companies. Avella said that a private company was twice as likely to go to the hospital with which it has an affiliation than a Fire Department ambulance on the same run.
Bahnken agreed, pointing out that private companies are bankrolled by particular hospitals.
“If I’m signing your check, you’d better bring me business,” he said of the private companies.
But in a phone interview, a Fire Department spokesman said the cuts would not necessarily lead to a reduction in city services.
“I believe we’re confident we’re able to eliminate the effect on response times,” said David Billig, a spokesman for the department, Billig referred to 1996, when the Fire Department took control of the city’s ambulances.
“This is not something that was done haphazardly,” said Billig. “This was a well thought-out plan.”
Instead of cutting ambulance tours, Avella suggested that the Fire Department should improve its bookkeeping. He referred to an August 2000 report by the state Comptroller’s Office that estimated the Fire Department loses about $3.8 million just from sending bills to incorrect addresses. Avella noted the Fire Department’s rate of collection from insurance companies was much lower than most other departments throughout the country.
“If we just went to the insurance companies and collected the money that was owed, we wouldn’t have to talk about these cutbacks,” said Avella.
While Avella and the union presidents objected to the cuts, a representative from a volunteer ambulance corps said his organization would be more than happy to take over runs for the lost ambulance corps.
“Hopefully, it would gives us more calls, which is what we are looking for, to tell you the truth,” said Louis Deutsche, vice-president of the Bay Community Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which operates out of Bay Terrace.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.
