State lawmakers on Wednesday proposed a bill to study ways of strengthening ambulance services in rural areas of New York. 

The bill, supported Sen. Michelle Hinchey and Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, would create a task force whose goal would be to examine the challenges of ambulance services in rural areas as well as find long-term solutions to the issue. 

“For far too long, families in rural communities have dealt with unequal access to critical health care – an issue that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Santabarbara said. “Thousands of rural New Yorkers rely on this critical emergency medical service to provide lifesaving interventions, and yet dozens of our rural ambulance services have been forced to permanently close their doors, while others continue to lose valuable employees. We cannot allow these problems to continue to fall by the wayside, especially at a time when these critical services are more important than ever. I’ll continue fighting to enhance the quality of life for rural New Yorkers as we continue on our road to recovery.”

State lawmakers pointed to a range of issues facing EMS crews in rural areas, including a smaller pool of volunteers, the difficulty in recruiting and retaining professionals and the lack of reimbursement for when people are cared for on scene, as well as the complications facing long ambulance drives. 

“The health and well-being of our rural communities is directly tied to the success of our local EMS systems and right now they’re facing a crisis,” Hinchey said. “Our rural ambulance services operate with extremely limited resources, including budget and staffing shortfalls, and many are closing because of these detrimental challenges. This legislation will create a dedicated Rural Ambulance Services Task Force charged with examining the difficulties facing rural EMS providers and developing actionable recommendations to strengthen and sustain the system for years to come. I will always fight to improve access to healthcare for rural New Yorkers, and I’m proud to introduce this legislation to protect our EMS services and the dedicated personnel who administer them.”