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Absolutely VAC get tax money one way or another. I have worked for many VAC's as a paid Paramedic. They all get money one way. They can have their own tax district or the town, village or whatever has it in the budget to give them money.

They also bill the health insurance on patients. So the whole "Volunteer" thing only relates to the personnel not the operational cost of running it. That is tax payer and health insurance money.

Can I ask why do agencies feel the need to spend over 100,00 dollars on an ambulance? We need custom cabintes, Strobes, LEDs, Gas window tiniting, etc. Does having a truck like this make people think they will provide a better patient care? The only thing it creates is more headaches when the eletrical system shorts out or putting an enormous Mod Body on a chasis that can't handle it. It is funny because I work for a commercial service that buys 60,000 dollar ambulances and we do just fine. Maybe they should find a better way to spend tax payers money or put it towards a better idea.

The problem is not NYS DOH here.

1) Managed Healthcare and Medicare- EMS has been a losing battle since the insurance compines are allowed to run around making the rules and deciding how much they are willing to pay. If a Paramedic unit picks up a patient and provides the best possible care which uses $800 of equipment and the insurance company turns around and says, ok we are paying you $400. This is also true with Medicare.

2) Not for nothing but Volunteering and keeping Volunteers around is not the answer. In todays society unless your a corrupt CEO or someone else who makes 400,000 a year, it is almost impossible to work only 1 job. Being a volunteer for 8 years I have seen the decline in members because of the family life and supporting the family. Most people work a second job and if they don't they are putting in 50-60hrs at the only job. Now working 50-60 hrs a week and having a family to see........the last place I am going to be is in a building waiting for a call to drop.

3) Making becoming an EMT easier and make requiremnts less...................Oh Good Answer there! I want someone coming to pick me up in an accidnet or something that has been put through a speed class and volunteers 1 day a week and does 4 calls a month as a volunteer. Being a paramedic I have put a ton of time and work into becoming what I have become. I find it ridiculous that the standards should be lowered just to get more unqualified people on the streets.

Ugh, I can go on....................The answer is like every other State and County does. County Wide EMS systems...........Give people who want to do EMS for real a job and make the tax money that we pay go for something useful. Get qualified people in and make it a job. Take the 20-30 minute response times and get them down tp 8 min. Get the person who does 4 calls a month to a person who does 40 calls a month. Let the citizens feel comfortable that when they pick up the phone they will get an ambulance in 8 min and have people who know what to do.

Yeah Universal Precautions.........................Its called the Fire Dept. EMS has the job of standing by and not entering an unsafe scene.