Officials planning changes for Jackson first aid service
New response unit will be under control of police department
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON - Changes will be made in the way that emergency medical services are provided to residents.

Municipal officials are in the process of hiring professional emergency services responders who will work under the auspices of the Jackson Police Department.

The plan is to have the new Jackson teams in place by mid-November.

Mayor Mark Seda, Director of Public Safety Matthew D. Kunz and Jackson police Sgt. Brian J. Geoghegan discussed the plans during a meeting with residents of the Fours Seasons at Metedeconk Lakes adult community on Sept. 5.

Four Seasons external affairs chairman Rich Despins said, "It has been brought to our attention that there has been some dissatisfaction with [some] emergency responses. Currently, emergency response in Jackson is covered from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. by MONOC, which is the not-for-profit company that bills residents for its services. MONOC is owned by 10 hospitals from Ocean, Monmouth and Atlantic counties."

Despins said that from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., emergency medical service is provided by members of the Jackson Volunteer First Aid Squad. There is no charge for the services of the first aid squad, which is supported through contributions and a $20,000 stipend from the Township Council. The municipality also provides funding for ambulances and maintenance of equipment by township personnel.

Despins said that at a recent meeting of the Mayor's Advisory Board it was suggested that the current MONOC service be eliminated and replaced with a paid Community Service Officer (CSO), who would come under the police department, and a municipal based emergency medical services program between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Seda said there were several issues that had to be addressed regarding the service that is being received by residents. He noted there is no control by an independent organization over any problems that may arise with the existing service. He said he met with Kunz and Geoghegan and together they determined that the best way to begin was to have a CSO program.

"We would bring it in house and we would control the emergency medical services (EMS) in Jackson," Seda said. "Unfortunately, it takes quite some time to get everything on line."

Kunz, who has 19 years of service in law enforcement, has been involved in EMS for 18 years as a volunteer and has given his professional services as well.

"The mayor became aware of some deficiencies in the emergency medical services in town after hearing complaints that were brought to his office," Kunz said. "Typically the complaints were made regarding response times, whether it was the paid (MONOC) or volunteer (Jackson First Aid Squad) service."

Kunz said that a decade ago Jackson had 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week volunteer EMS coverage.

"There are two levels of emergency medical service," he said. "What we are talking about is called Basic Life Support (BLS). You've probably all heard of the training level EMT (emergency medical technician). They provide basic life support and there are two to an ambulance. Their training involves 130 hours of classroom and practical time and they are certified by the state."

Kunz said the local service is BLS.

"MONOC provides for Advanced Life Support (ALS)," Kunz said. "Those are the paramedics. They come to your home and provide emergency room level service with medications and more aggressive [services] areas."

Kunz said that beginning in 1996 the volunteer first aid squad could no longer effectively provide ambulance service during the day. Paid service was instituted and continues today.

Under the new set-up the Jackson Volunteer First Aid Squad will continue to provide service from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., according to Kunz. He said officials have looked at towns that have a CSO program and said there could be a better level of service offered here.

In taking the first step toward having a paid municipal service under the police department, Kunz said an EMS application was submitted to the state and subsequently approved.

Moving forward from that point, Kunz said officials have researched ambulances, studied the number of personnel that will be needed and examined policies, among other considerations to make certain the Jackson program is in compliance with state regulations.

Officials expect to have ambulances and paid personnel ready to go on line by mid- November, he said.

"Since this will be our own staff, we will be able to maintain control over who is working in the township," Kunz said. "There will be full criminal background investigations on everyone who is hired, so people who we are sending into your homes are competent, professional and trustworthy."

He said Jackson's emergency medical services personnel will be given assignments to attend to when they are not busy with a medical emergency.

Applications are being accepted and interviews for the positions will be scheduled.

Kunz said he expects to manage the program firsthand and to provide a better level of care. He said it is the intention of officials to bill a patient's insurance company for payment.

Kunz said Howell has become its own municipal emergency medical service through the police department, as has the Brick Township Police Department. He noted that the Toms River Police Department's emergency medical services program is 5 years old and is providing an exceptional level of care for patients.

Kunz and Geoghegan responded to questions from Four Seasons residents.

Resident Harry Wiko wanted to know how many ambulances will be in action.

He was told the service will start with two ambulances and if a third is needed there is a mutual aid system in which a neighboring municipality will be called for assistance, until Jackson has a third ambulance available.

Other questions were asked about response time for the new service.

Residents were told that a person having a cardiac event needs to have a one- to two-minute response. If a person needs cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) the best response is four to six minutes, Kunz said.

"We certainly don't want people waiting for medical intervention," he told the residents. "First responders in the police department are also trained in CPR and are sent out (on a call) as well."

Seda said Jackson, which is 100 square miles in size and has more than 50,000 residents, is presently manned by two ambulances that are in town. The only difference, he said, is based on the need.

"As we need more ambulances we can add more to cut response time, and our vehicles will be in motion out on the road," the mayor said. "It's going to run along the same guidelines as the police department. So we will have a vehicle on the road and fully manned. [That way] we don't have to wait for a call to come in, get to the first aid station, switch vehicles and go out or [have a vehicle at a central location]."

Business Administrator Phil Del Turco said it is anticipated that Jackson's fulltime EMS employees will be paid between $33,000 and $45,000, annually and the part-time EMS employees will be paid between $13 and $15 per hour.

Other municipalities were contacted by Greater Media Newspapers to compare the number of rigs, size of population and square miles that are covered.

Capt. John Hartman of the Englishtown Manalapan First Aid Squad said that organization has five ambulances and one rescue truck for 35.5 square miles and a population of about 38,000. Hartman said the squad receives an average of nine calls per day. Volunteers answer the calls for assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Freehold First Aid and Emergency Squad trustee Jim McAllister said there are four rigs which cover Freehold Township and Freehold Borough, an area of about 40 square miles with a population of more than 45,000.

McAllister said volunteers respond to calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He said MONOC provides backup response on calls, but said there are certain times when MONOC will take over and provide the initial response on a temporary basis.

Howell First Aid Squad spokesman Jeff Dematteo said Howell has three transportation rigs and one crash transport for 50,000 people who live in the municipality's 60 square miles.