Rocky Run Fire Co. (Image courtesy of RRFC)
Who will serve the community. moving forward?
Middletown Township is planning to change its primary emergency medical services provider — and Main Line Health, its longtime EMS partner, isn’t happy about it.
In fact, the health system contends that its latest contract with the township, which started on April 25, 2022, and is set to end on April 24, 2026, “has been breached,” according to Shelly Buck, president of ambulatory and professional services for Main Line Health, who spoke during a Feb. 4 council meeting.
Buck contended that the breach occurred when Middletown Township made changes last March to “run cards” that Main Line Health did not approve. Run cards are plans used to coordinate which EMS units should respond to any given incident based on the location and nature of the emergency. Main Line Health projects that it’s facing about $500,000 in lost revenue due to what it contends are the unauthorized changes.
Middletown Township Manager John McMullan noted that for now, the council is only reviewing and discussing a resolution that would name Rocky Run as the township’s primary EMS provider. “I’ll be back in two weeks, potentially with a date [that’s] certain for this,” he said.
However, McMullan noted that the township council has increased financial support to Rocky Run over the past six months and approved funds to purchase an ambulance that will be upfitted as an ALS unit.
In her remarks to council, Buck said Main Line Health for years has been providing EMS services to the township for free because it was able to cover its costs through “the arrangement that we had being first call.” That is significant, because “I’ve had my eyes on contracts with municipalities that reach $1 million a year just to provide these services,” she added.
The health system has had extensive discussions with the township about how to continue to provide EMS services in some capacity, but because an agreement hasn’t been reached that would allow Main Line Health to cover its costs by being the second or third call, “we did make the decision to serve notice that we will not be renewing the contract,” Buck said.
“After more than two decades of partnership, Main Line Health believes a coordinated and cost-effective EMS solution could have been developed collaboratively,” she added.
However, supporters of Middletown Township’s decision to name Rocky Run Fire Company as its primary EMS provider say there are plenty of valid reasons to do so — including financial ones.
“I think for a hospital to say, ‘we’re going to charge…Concord Township $1 million, but we’re going to do it for Middletown for free,’ that’s not going to last,” said Duane Minshall, a former member of Rocky Run Fire Company and longtime Riddlewood resident. “I think that the township has more control over the local ambulance versus the hospital ambulance or a contracted, private ambulance.”
Brookhaven Fire Company Chief Rob Montella pointed out that the borough of Brookhaven opted for a contract with Rocky Run after struggling to find a provider for advanced life support services.
“You see all these third-party outfits coming in, hospital-based ambulances going down, out of service, rising costs,” he said. “We went with the model [that’s] fire department based, municipal based, [and] you have way more control over the amount of money you got to put out there.”
