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Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance and Southeast Quadrant MCCU Merge

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Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance and Southeast Quadrant MCCU Merge

We are pleased to announce that Southeast Quadrant MCCU (SEQ) has officially merged with Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance, Inc. (PVA).

“Our organizations recognized an opportunity to maintain a high level of service while reducing patient and operating costs,” says Jonathan Smith, PVA Director of Operations. “We also wanted to retain the highly skilled Paramedics and EMTs, which is critical to our sustainability. It seemed to us we could accomplish all of this by implementing common management, leading the organizations toward the common end-goal of consolidation.”

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PVA's First Ambulance and Base on Tobey Road

Both organizations have long-standing traditions of service, including the Pittsford and surrounding communities. PVA has provided uninterrupted emergency medical services to the residents and community of Pittsford since its foundation in 1971. PVA began operating out of a house on Tobey Road, responding with a maroon Cadillac ambulance and a small corps of dedicated volunteers. Since formation, PVA has received more than 50,000 calls for service in Pittsford and surrounding communities. Currently PVA has over 80 members serving the community, including volunteers who serve as EMTs and in administrative roles.

SEQ was formed in 1976 to provide advanced life support services (ALS) on a cooperative basis with several ambulance services in southeastern Monroe County. The dedicated Paramedics of SEQ originally served the communities of East Rochester, Penfield, Perinton, and Pittsford, providing support for the local ambulances in each town. In 42 years of uninterrupted service, SEQ has responded to more than 100,000 calls throughout southeastern Monroe County, and surrounding communities.

Locally and nationally, ambulance and other public safety organizations are increasingly consolidating. Ambulance services are facing decreasing volunteerism, and often employ EMTs and Paramedics to ensure ambulance service is available. Further compounding the issue, ambulance services struggle to receive consistent reimbursement for the services provided. With increasing operating expenses and stagnant (or decreasing) payment for service, many local ambulance services struggle to remain viable. Recognizing these shifts in the ambulance industry, PVA and SEQ agreed to evaluate the opportunity for consolidation.

Discussion for a merger began in early 2016. Moving forward together, common management and operations were established in March 2017. The existing high-level cooperation of the organizations made common leadership a logical early step for PVA.

In May 2018, PVA received final approval to execute the planned merger. The merged organization will operate as Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance, Inc. (PVA). A Board of nine volunteer Directors composed of members of the corps and Directors from within the community govern the newly merged service. The management team which led the merger process continues to oversee ambulance operations, and explore opportunities for future relationships.

Smith says; “This merger promotes the sustainability necessary for PVA to continue delivering community- based, high-quality emergency medical services. We have broadened PVA’s operational footprint, expanding focus to include ambulance service within the Town and Village of Pittsford, and supportive services for surrounding communities originally served by SEQ. Our team remains prepared to serve the Pittsford community, and support our neighboring emergency services partners.”

 

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Headquarters of Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance, Inc. (PVA) on Tobey Road

 

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