Adams, Cheshire Officials Set Meeting on Ambulance
ADAMS, Mass. — Officials in Adams and Cheshire are hosting a public meeting to discuss actions being taken in light of the reported closing of Adams Ambulance Service.
In post on social media, the town administrators for the two communities, Jay Green and Jennifer Morse, said the meeting will be held Monday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. at the Cheshire Cheshire Community House (the former school).
Officials said they have received no official notice from the Adams Ambulance Service Board of Directors about the service's pending closure on Dec. 31. They were informed, like many others, by reading posts by employees over the past weekend.
"We have reached out to Adams Ambulance Service requesting an official statement regarding the closure and to date have not received a response," they wrote in their message, which was posted at about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. "As a result, we have been in contact with the Department of Public Health (DPH) and Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) to support our communities as we work through a transition plan to ensure continuity of emergency medical services."
The situation was discussed by town and public safety officials earlier on Tuesday and they said they were coordinating with Northern Berkshire EMS to assume operations. Northern Berkshire's President Paul Ethier on Sunday night said the ambulance service was willing to work with Adams, Cheshire and Savoy but pointed out the need to hire more staff to accommodate the towns.
According to Green and Morse, the Adams Ambulance had indicated to DPH that it may close even earlier than Dec. 31.
"As part of our conversations, a couple of locations for Northern Berkshire EMS have been identified to house an ambulance and crew," they wrote. "These viable locations will go through the regulatory processes in order to finalize a location that works best; and the necessary State agencies have ensured our communities an expedited process to maintain continuity of service."
Northern Berkshire EMS is reportedly working with Berkshire County Dispatch on a radio and communication services plan that will not cause a delay in response time.
Adams Ambulance reported a more than $200,000 deficit in its budget that it could not overcome; there are attempts being made by employees and residents to keep the service going, including setting up a GoFundMe with a $100,000 goal and ideas for fundraisers. There have also been calls for the town of Adams to take over the nonprofit.
Both Adams Ambulance and Northern Berkshire EMS are private nonprofits that are not governed by the towns. Northern Berkshire — created by a merger between North Adams and Williamstown — covers 10 communities in Northern Berkshire and Southern Vermont.
Several other county ambulance services operate under their town and/or fire departments while Southern Berkshire Volunteer Ambulance Squad covers the southernmost part of the county and two private companies, Action and County ambulances, cover the Pittsfield area.
Town officials said they are in contact with other mutual aid agencies and that "residents in Adams and Cheshire can be assured that when 911 is called, an ambulance will respond."
Representatives from both Adams and North Adams ambulance services have been invited to Monday's meeting. The public is encouraged to attend to hear any further updates about emergency services in the towns of Adams and Cheshire.
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