CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Borough Council Monday night voted 6-4 to end further discussion on starting its own advanced life support ambulance service after discussing a study that pegged the cost at more than $600,000.
The borough and Greene, Guilford, Hamilton and Letterkenny townships, along with Franklin County, have a contract with West Shore Emergency Medical Services of Camp Hill, Pa., to provide advanced life support (ALS) ambulance service for those municipalities and county facilities. West Shore has provided the service since 2003 and the municipalities entered into a new three-year contract at the beginning of 2006, Assistant Borough Manager David Finch said.
A consulting firm, Parastar Inc., issued a report that listed three options for the borough to consider - maintaining the status quo; beginning an ALS service with the support of the townships; and starting an ALS service without township support.
Maintaining the current agreement, in which West Shore also provides the borough with backup basic life support ambulance service, costs the borough about $29,000 a year, the study concluded. An ALS service supported by the township would cost the borough approximately $245,000 and, without township support, $601,000 a year to pay for paramedics salaries, vehicles and other expenses.