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Paid First Aid Squad Proving To Be A Success In Brick
By Catherine Snipe
In one year, the number of first aid calls jumped by several thousand. Township Council Vice President Ruthanne Scaturro credits the new paid squad the township uses.
Scaturro, a member of the township's public safety committee, said that the first half of 2006 had 2,700 calls answered, but in the second half, 4,300 calls were answered. She dates those figures around May 18, the first day the new paid EMTs rolled out.
The new squad - the township
also has volunteer first aid squads - has six full-time paid employees.
"The folks hired are very, very dedicated individuals," Scaturro said.
The township has also purchased vehicles for the squad this year. Scaturro said the squad is not yet operating in the black, but that there's hope the squad will continue to grow, especially in man hours.
"We'd be expanding hours depending on the budgetary funds," she said.
Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni said the squad is also decreasing its response time, as the average time is down drastically. "It makes you feel safer," he said.
The average time went from an estimated 11 minutes down to six, Sangiovanni said.
The national average is four minutes, which is the goal of the squad, he said. Long-term, the response time may drop below the national average, Sangiovanni said.
In addition to the paid squad, the township has several volunteer first aid squads which are an active part of the first aid services in Brick. Training is provided by the squad's - located in Herbertsville, on the barrier island and throughout the community - at no cost. Officials have said the purpose of the paid squad is to supplement the volunteers, not replace them.
The flip side to a successful paid emergency medical transport squad sometimes comes at the cost of the volunteer squads, as state labor laws require anyone who works as a paid medical technician for the township and as a volunteer on a local squad to receive overtime pay for their volunteer hours.
The township's Emergency Medical Service is run by the township police department and covers areas of Brick such as Laurelton, Midstreams and Herbertsville.
Overall, Scaturro said she is impressed by the squad and its ability to handle calls.
"I think we'll see a lot more good things coming out of it," she said.
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