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TLC takes over for Rural/Metro
By Amaris Elliott-Engel / The Citizen
AUBURN - TLC Emergency Medical Services has now fully taken on its responsibility as Auburn's main ambulance service, but the Rural/Metro ambulance service will keep a presence in Cayuga County as long as it's fiscally feasible. TLC, which has a sister ambulance service in Cortland, began full operation Aug. 1 out of Rural/Metro's old garage and offices on North Street. Almost all of the former employees of the Rural/Metro Auburn operation said they have gone to work for the new ambulance provider out of concern with the commitment of Rural/Metro to the area and because of the condition of the ambulance rigs and other equipment.
The Auburn City Council voted April 6 to bring TLC into the city after requesting proposals from ambulance services last year. Rural/Metro has been responding to calls out of Auburn Fire Department's Station Three since vacating its old facilities when its lease expired June 30. Rural/Metro was asked to stay for a few more weeks by the city administration because of delays in TLC having all its regulatory approvals to operate in place.
“From what I've seen from TLC so far, I'm thoroughly impressed,” said Auburn Fire Department Interim Fire Chief Terry Winslow. “They seem to have all the necessary equipment. The general morale from the people riding the rigs seems to be increasing.”
The care provided by Rural/Metro staff never wavered, Winslow said, but Rural/Metro didn't respond to nearly as many emergency calls as it had in the past, and there were serious delays in response time, which left volunteer ambulance crews, run by local fire departments in surrounding towns, pinch-hitting for calls for service.
Mike Addario, division general manager for Rural/Metro in central New York, said Rural/Metro will move shortly from the fire station to a leased space on York Street. Addario said there appear to be enough calls to support Rural/Metro's changed operation to make it sustainable to stay in the county. Rural/Metro has a permanent certificate of need, equivalent to a license of operation, for Cayuga County, so there are going to be two ambulance providers in the city. A certificate of need requires readiness to respond to emergencies, but does not require response to any specific emergencies unless state Health Department regulations require a response.
“We've gotten feedback from existing customers that would like us to stay, so we're going to see if we can stay and continue serving that population,” Addario said. Rural/Metro is staffing its Auburn operation with a combination of new employees, rehired employees who used to work for the Auburn outfit and Syracuse-based Rural/Metro employees looking for extra shifts. They will have a staff of eight full-time equivalents and run a 24-hour paramedic ambulance and a fly car, a lead intercept vehicle for the ambulance.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at
253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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