Montauk Ambulance Company addresses concerns about emergency response time

Recommend

Comment

Email this article

Print this article

Get news alerts

RSS Feeds

Share Digg Mixx Linked In Facebook Twitter Delicious

Ken Glogg, captain of the Montauk Ambulance Company, speaks at the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee on Monday night.
Photos by Erin Geismar

In a worst-case scenario, it could take a Montauk person in medical distress almost an hour to be taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital, but Ken Glogg, captain of the Montauk Ambulance Company, said that’s a rare situation that occurs only when there are not enough available volunteers in Montauk or nearby hamlets, and the ambulance has to come from as far away as Bridgehampton. In fact, he told the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee on Monday night, in the two years that area emergency service teams have used a mutual aid system, where a call is passed around through dispatches until a team responds, there have been 7,000 ambulance calls and only one, which happened in October, that has required a team to travel the full distance from Bridgehampton to Montauk for a run to the hospital.

The system works, he said, but the key issues that still need to be addressed are the number of “taxi rides” the ambulance volunteers provide to people who could have driven themselves to the hospital or a medical center, and a lack of volunteers.

He estimated that close to 20-percent of the ambulance rides provided are unnecessary, he said.

“When the person’s got their bags ready to go, that’s discouraging,” he said.

Members of the Montauk CAC suggested that the ambulance company could educate the community about when to call 911 and what other services are available.

Lisa Grenci, chairwoman of the CAC, said the ambulance company could have a flyer made and passed around the community, and especially at hotels, that would let people know what their medical care options are. She said that especially during the summer, when the number of calls to 911 peaks, it would be helpful to educate tourists.

“I think the education way is the way to go,” she said. “People come out here and they think they’re in the boondocks. If something happens, they just call 911.”

Mr. Glogg said that while unknowing tourists can be an increased burden during the summer, even year-round residents don’t realize how long it will take them to get to Southampton Hospital and see a doctor and that the ambulance cannot, by New York State law, bring them to the Montauk Medical Center.

He said that on top of educational flyers, the ambulance company could use more volunteers. He said there are about 20 volunteers, and with just four or five more people who were retired or semi-retired, the team would be much better equipped to handle its volume of calls and have to rely on mutual aid less often.

“Every year we ask for more volunteers,” he said. “If people have a problem with how long it takes, I say join. By helping us out, you’re helping yourselves.”