ALLEGANY, N.Y. — When an individual is in need of emergency care, the hope is that an ambulance with emergency medical services personnel can respond as quickly as possible.
The Allegany Rescue & EMS organization at 10 First St. is also hopeful to achieve that goal, but in order to do so will have to recruit more volunteers for all positions.
Jim O’Brien, board president, said the non-profit organization, which is not connected to the Allegany Fire Department, decided to set up a committee of four women from the community to serve as a citizen focus group to recruit volunteers. On Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., the community will be able to meet committee members Whitney Oldham, Katie Buzzard, Christi Baxter and Carie Milliron at an open house at the EMS station. The community will also have the opportunity to meet EMS personnel, tour the facility and enjoy free hotdogs.
“They’re kind of awesome,” O’Brien said of the committee and their continuing plans to help the organization.
Oldham, a stay-at-home mom, said she and the other committee members are part of a friend group and learned from Buzzard, whose father is O’Brien, about the volunteer shortage at the organization. All wanted to help as they have children and families that might be in need of the services one day.
Oldham said they then began discussing how they could publicize the message for the organization through social media or other methods.
“When we first came in, they showed us all of the equipment that they used and we did a tour of the ambulance,” Oldham recalled. “We were blown away, we couldn’t believe how vital they are to the community … we are very impressed.”
O’Brien said all positions — drivers, assistants and EMTs — are filled by volunteers who receive free training and need not have experience.
“We recruit for those three positions,” he said. “We get no tax dollars and we’re totally funded by billing (for services from insurance companies) and donations.”
O’Brien said the organization is “in the black” in regard to donations and billings, but the ongoing issue is maintaining personnel.
“We need drivers during the day and need people who are dedicated enough to want to go to school to become an EMT,” he continued. “It does take time, since the basic EMT (training) takes three months, and at the medical level it’s over a year.”
For the basic EMT training, recruits participate in three and a half hour sessions three nights a week at facilities in the area. The organization is currently recruiting individuals and will accept trainees until the end of August, when training begins.
O’Brien said the basic training can lead to professional positions with other organizations such as ambulance companies and fire departments. Those trained, however, are asked to spare four hours a month for Allegany Rescue & EMS.
Baxter and Buzzard, who are teachers at Allegany-Limestone Elementary School, said they, too, see a need in helping maintain the EMS service in the community. They noted that the committee made a flyer that was sent home to the parents of the elementary students as well as to the high school juniors and seniors for recruiting purposes. EMS personnel have also gone door-to-door in the community to appeal for recruits. Buzzard said the flyers and other information were made more “user friendly” in outlining the different options open to volunteers.
“I would bet people in the community have no idea that there is such a shortage on volunteers,” Baxter remarked.
O’Brien said this sometimes equates to different companies in the region picking up calls from the Allegany area, which takes in 96-square miles, when they have no one to send.
“If we can’t dispatch people within 10 minutes then they have to turn it over to another agency,” he explained. “So then you’re waiting for another 10 minutes” or double or triple the time for response.
For more information on volunteering, call (716)373-1245, (716)307-0510, visit the website alleganyrescueems.org or send emails to alleganyems@gmail.com
