With a widespread shortage of emergency medical technicians comes the need to figure out how to still respond to emergency calls.

One company is working to improve ambulance response rates in New York communities.

What You Need To Know

  • With more than 800 employees in New York, Empress provides EMS in Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, along with the Bronx

  • Empress EMS has responded to 6,500 emergency calls in Dutchess County since Jan. 1, with a 99% response rate

  • Along with providing dedicated service to municipalities, Empress EMS houses a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week communications center to keep up with the volume of calls, and has training programs to bring in more EMTs

Empress Emergency Medical Services is expanding its footprint in the Hudson Valley to respond to more 911 calls and address current care gaps in the EMS system.

“Just like police and fire, when you dial 911 for an ambulance, you expect someone to be responding very quickly,” said Robert Stuck, executive director of Empress Emergency Medical Services. “Sometimes, that means that the resource has to be there and ready and waiting for that call.”

With 37 years of experience as a certified EMT, Stuck has seen the EMS industry go through changes leading to a shortage of EMTs, which he said began even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It can be challenging to make sure that, or expensive, to make sure that there's an ambulance ready for a response,” Stuck said. "I think we've strengthened that, especially with some of the bigger communities and cities now having dedicated resources."

According to Stuck, Empress is funded through a combination of fees for service typically from insurance companies covering patients’ ambulance bills, as well as municipalities with dedicated resources.

Volunteer services and sometimes paid employees make up local EMS, which are funded in an assortment of ways, including user service, insurance and/or local governments.

Stuck said municipalities working with Empress are able to have faster response times, a dedicated ambulance or ambulances, high-quality equipment and trained EMTs, specifically for that area.

“Overall, in Dutchess, we’ve responded to over 6,500 calls since Jan. 1 with a 99% response rate. Therefore, there was a 1% where the surrounding communities needed to come in with mutual aid. However, now that there are so many more communities that have dedicated resources, we've also strengthened the mutual aid system, where surrounding communities now have dedicated resources that can help their neighbors,” Stuck said.

With more than 800 employees in New York, Empress provides EMS in Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, along with the Bronx.

It also houses a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week communications center to keep up with the volume of calls and has training programs to bring in more EMTs. Stuck believes programs like these can be brought to other parts of the state, and especially help rural communities.

“I think it's a model that is going to help address the EMS crisis that, again, isn't only in Dutchess County or the state of New York, but in the country," Stuck said.

Stuck said local counties are working with municipalities and Empress to come up with solutions specific to their needs.