The Town of Greenfield has opened the doors of Greenfield Ambulance, which will offer 24-hour, seven-days-a-week emergency services at 14 South Greenfield Road.
Through a shared services partnership with the Town of Corinth EMS, the facility will house a full-time emergency medical technician and paramedic, as well as an ambulance and first response vehicle. The full-time emergency medical services will benefit more than 8,200 Town of Greenfield residents, including those in Greenfield Center, Porter Corners, Middle Grove, Lake Desolation and Maple Avenue, officials said.
Former Town Supervisor Daniel Pemrick, who led this effort, said the municipal partnership with the Town of Corinth is the key for providing the infrastructure necessary for Greenfield to launch its town service.
“Corinth EMS is the ideal partner to bring better emergency services to our town,” said Pemrick. “They are a well-established, first-rate operation that will help us bring our residents the kind of fast, quality care we need.”
The new service will allow Greenfield, who has contracted with at times up to three different local EMS units, a permanent solution for efficient town-wide emergency services. The new facility is located across the street from the Greenfield Fire Department, in a newly renovated garage, that once housed the town’s Fire Department. Greenfield Ambulance will occupy approximately 1,500 square feet of the building, including a garage bay, a secured storage room for medical supplies, as well as living and sleeping quarters with a full bathroom and kitchenette.
Town of Corinth Director of EMS Matt Fogarty said Greenfield had approximately 600 emergency calls last year. The new centralized service will reduce response times for the town’s entire 68-square-mile area, which also includes Prestwick Chase retirement community and Maple Avenue Middle School. Fogarty will also serve as director of Greenfield Ambulance and will staff the new service with his 36 current employees.
“This arrangement will be a win for both the Town of Greenfield and the Town of Corinth, Fogarty said. “Both communities will receive enhanced emergency services in the most efficient way possible.”
Corinth Town Supervisor Eric Butler said Corinth Ambulance “has always been an object of pride for our community. This new service agreement gives us the ability to provide more focused care for our communities at a lower cost.”
The town has been carefully examining how to efficiently improve EMS services for the past three years and a committee was formed in early 2021 led by Greenfield Town Board Member Rick Capasso and newly-elected Greenfield Town Supervisor Kevin Veitch, among others.
“We are thrilled about the opportunities this new facility and service will provide our residents,” said Veitch. “It is an operational strategy that benefits our growing town and positions us for the future.”
Veitch said the service will be funded in this year’s budget. The initial program is scheduled for three years and will be evaluated on an ongoing basis for cost and effectiveness. He said Greenfield Ambulance will help the town better protect, prevent and mitigate health crises; maintain and disseminate more accurate medical information; and improve emergency medical response times.
In addition, the unit will be available to provide community health service support to local events.
The Town of Greenfield is home to 8,200 residents in Greenfield, Porter Corners and Middle Grove. It spans more than 41,000 acres of land bordering the Adirondacks.