Larry Santoro, head of the Naugatuck Ambulance Inc., said he would prefer not to cancel the staffing of a full-time paramedic at his Rubber Avenue station.

“I would much rather keep the paramedic here,” Santoro said. “But there’s no way we can with the costs going up and rising insurance.”

Naugatuck Ambulance, a contractor for the borough, is in charge of providing medical assistance to every emergency call — from car accidents to fires to cardiac arrests. Under its current model, the company sends an ambulance, EMTs and a licensed paramedic to every call, a requirement under the company’s contract.

Paramedics are trained medical technicians, who are able to administer medication, utilize an automatic defibrillator and deal with medical emergencies beyond an EMT. They also show up at the scene of an incident in their own vehicle, Santoro said.

But after Aug. 1, these paramedics will no longer be stationed at the Naugatuck Ambulance’s 243 Rubber Ave. location. Instead, they will dispatch from Waterbury, either at the Campion locations at Westover or Aurora Streets, or wherever else the paramedics happen to be, Santoro said.

The reason for the change, ultimately, comes down to money. Costs of insurance have risen and Campion Ambulance, the Waterbury-based company that provides paramedics to Naugatuck, is increasing its costs to the tune of $20,000 in the upcoming year, Santoro said.

Restructuring the office, by moving the paramedic back to Waterbury instead of Naugatuck, was the most cost effective way, Santoro said.

“Our accountants have looked at this for the past 6-9 months and the numbers don’t come out,” he said, noting the ambulance company looked into staffing its own paramedic.

Fire Chief Kenneth Hanks said the rearranged staffing brings the ambulance company “a step backwards.” Some 10 years ago, paramedics were dispatched from Waterbury rather than Naugatuck, however in recent years the company arranged to have a paramedic staffed in the borough 24 hours a day, he said.

Back in those days, there was “always a delay of 8-10 minutes,” the chief said.

As a contractor for the borough, Naugatuck Ambulance receives public money and will be paid $148,410 in the 2011-12 budget. According to an article published in the Republican-American and Citizens News newspapers, the ambulance company paid $266,000 for paramedic services in the past year.

Under the staff change, the ambulance company will still provide EMTs — with all of the proper medical equipment — to every call. But paramedics will now dispatch on an as-needed basis, Santoro said.

“I really want to provide the best service I possibly can,” Santoro said. “But if we really want to lose money every year, how can we stay operating?”

There is a downside to this new arrangement, said William Campion, president and CEO of Campion Ambulance.

“If we don’t have [a paramedic] available, then we don’t have one available,” Campion said. “The relationship [Naugatuck Ambulance] is leaving provided exclusive use to their population and their community.”

Public Officials React to the Change

The issue drew some concern at a recent Board of Mayor and Burgess meeting. Deputy Mayor Tamath K. Rossi said she felt it could affect response times.

“You could be talking life or death there,” Rossi told Patch. “You could lose someone in that time.”

Santoro, however, argued there would be no change in response times. In 2010, there were 4,500 medical calls the company responded to, of which 25 percent — or 1,125 — required a paramedic, he said.

In about 25 percent, or 281 calls, of those 1,125 calls the Naugatuck Ambulance has used an intercept program. That means the ambulance company’s on-staff paramedic was already at another call when the second emergency call came in, Santoro said.

In the intercept program, the dispatched ambulance would meet the paramedic halfway to St. Mary’s Hospital, he said.

Furthermore, he said, the EMTs that respond are already doing the basic life support during emergency calls

“The time frame would really be minimal based on a simultaneous dispatch,” he said.

The Board of Mayor and Burgesses and Board of Finance are slated to discuss this issue during a special meeting Tuesday. Mayor Robert Mezzo said the meeting is information for the joint board members, so they can understand the changes that are taking place.

In a blog post, Mezzo said the borough's attorney is analyzing the legal obligations between both parties. Read more of his response here.

“We take it very seriously and we believe the paramedic services housed in Naugatuck are very important,” the mayor told Patch. 

He said, while the borough doesn't control the ambulance company, there is some leverage due to the contract.

Editor's Note: Read a letter to the editor regarding this issue here