HADLEY — Painted yellow just like the town’s fire engines, the Hadley A-I ambulance is ready to head out to some medical calls in town, with the EMTs on board offering basic life support to patients.
During a brief ceremony at the 15 East St. public safety complex Monday morning, Fire Chief Michael Spanknebel called it a “historic date” for the town to begin the phased approach of offering a municipally run ambulance.
“We are looking forward to providing additional, speedy and excellent response to medical emergencies in all parts of our community,” Spanknebel said.
Including himself and Deputy Chief Evan Briant, there are 10 full-time staff who are cross-trained as both firefighters and EMTs. This is allowing the basic medical service to be offered from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, handling between 100 and 150 calls annually when the private Action EMS, which offers advanced life support, is on another call.
Spanknebel said the ambulance will allow his personnel to bring patients to the area hospitals, either Cooley Dickinson in Northampton or Baystate Medical in Springfield, more quickly.
“Our ultimate goal is getting the patient to the hospital,” he said.
Spanknebel credited the launch of the town to the advocacy of Select Board member Joyce Chunglo, who advocated for the service during two decades on the board.
Emergency medical dispatch, the next step in the project, will begin early next year.
Before the ambulance began to roll, it was blessed by the Rev. William Hamilton, director of worship for the Springfield Catholic Diocese.
“To have something like this in town is one of the greatest gifts that we could give to the populace,” Hamilton said.
