By Teresa McMinn
Cumberland Times News

LONACONING, Maryland – When a local funeral home could no longer transport sick or injured people to the hospital, the Georges Creek Ambulance Service was created.

The newly formed company followed a nationwide trend of replacing hearses, which were used as a side business to transport patients to the emergency room, with specialized medical assistants for calls for help.

Although that was almost 50 years ago, the demand for the Georges Creek Ambulance Service still exists today.

But last weekend, the emergency services stopped responding to calls.

“We are in a kind of limbo,” said Gerald Cook, vice president of the organization.

Difficult to maintain

As a child, Cook worked as a newspaper delivery boy and grew up with a father who was a mail carrier. He became an expert on the geography of his small hometown of Lonaconing.

His local knowledge came in handy when he started working as a driver for the local emergency services in the mid-1980s.

Cook also worked as a dispatcher for the Allegany County 911 Joint Communications Center, where he retired after 39 years.

He said that shortly after its establishment, the ambulance service had enough staff to make emergency calls and transport people to their doctor’s appointments.

By the late 1980s, volunteer numbers were dwindling, but the service was still able to respond to emergency calls and maintain a night crew, Cook says.

“We had pretty good coverage,” he said.

That changed around 2005, and the ambulance service, which gets its revenue from subscriptions, donations and annual grants from the county to cover medical bills, began to cover the costs of some paramedics and emergency medical technicians itself.

“We’ve never had county personnel,” Cook said of the emergency management agency’s assistance.

In the years that followed, it became increasingly difficult to retain sufficient workers, he said.

The ambulance service covers Lonaconing, Midland and a small portion of Garrett County.

The service’s area of ​​operation includes two schools, a nursing home, apartment buildings and a predominantly elderly population.

The station receives an average of about 525 calls for help per year, up from 636 last year and about 360 calls between Jan. 1 and Sunday, says Cook, who keeps the service’s handwritten call log.

“Problems getting crews”

In January, the service asked Allegany County authorities to take responsibility for the organization.

“We were having trouble finding crew members,” Cook said, adding that finances were running tight.

The district authorities were open to the idea and estimated that eight employees would be needed to staff the emergency services, he said.

But month after month, the transfer was missing from the agenda of the Commissioner’s meeting.

There are now three volunteers working in the rescue service.

In addition to Cook, Jim Dawson has been with the rescue service since 1977 and is the organization’s treasurer.

Tom Morgan is a board member and emergency medical technician.

He has served the organization for 18 years.

Morgan volunteered for 19 years with Good Will Fire Company No. 1 in Lonaconing.

Although the ambulance service has suspended operations while awaiting instructions from the county, the organization has not been officially dissolved, he said.

“We don’t really know what’s going on,” Morgan said.

“Life or Death”

The county is sending ambulances from Frostburg and Tri-Towns EMS to cover emergency calls in Georges Creek.

This means longer wait times for residents in the Lonaconing area who need emergency medical care.

“This could be life or death,” Morgan said.

The emergency services have received conflicting messages from the district authorities, he said.

“They need to figure out what they’re doing,” Morgan said of the need for an efficient, comprehensive and responsive EMS system, adding that the current situation in the county is “pretty dangerous.”

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Under a proposed memorandum of understanding, the county would continue to staff the ambulance service full-time every day for at least five years.

“That would be our contract,” Morgan said.

But the DES leadership seems to have lost its bearings, he said.

“It’s like they just don’t communicate with each other,” Morgan said.

“It won’t get better”

In April, county officials announced a $13.1 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2025.

This included a DES deficit of US$2 million.

To address the overall shortage of emergency medical personnel, Allegany County International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1715 in May proposed a public safety tax of 5 cents per $100 of assessed property value. That would mean about $6 more per month for the average household in the county.

County officials said the increase would generate about $2.4 million in revenue.

But county commissioners rejected the idea, saying they were “committed to fiscal responsibility and would not raise taxes.”

Last week, six paramedics were released on probation.

Morgan said he supports the idea of ​​a fire and rescue service tax.

People need to understand that the money will fund better emergency services, he said.

“I think it would be worth it for a lot of people,” Morgan said.

The shrinking pool of volunteer emergency workers needed to fill gaps in care will not improve, he said.

“Times aren’t what they used to be,” Morgan said of working families with no time to spare. “People can’t survive on one income.”

He serves as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Lonaconing and Barton.

Morgan’s wife April is a regional manager at Vesper Medical Transport.

To be determined

Last week, county officials outlined their plans to address the emergency medical services personnel shortage in a press release.

“We understand the stress this places on our dedicated paramedics and their families,” County Administrator Jason Bennett said in the press release.

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“Our intention has always been to work with the union to find a solution that balances our financial obligations with the need to provide high quality emergency services. Unfortunately, the union’s unwillingness to reach agreement on the 12-hour shifts without presenting other viable alternatives has necessitated these layoffs and staffing changes.”

On Wednesday, Kati Kenney, public relations and communications manager in the Allegany County Clerk’s Office, said the county intends to take over the Georges Creek Ambulance Service.

“That’s the plan at the moment, although it’s not official yet,” she said.

“While the commissioners indicated during the budget process that this was the intention, they are still working through whether it is feasible,” Kenney said. “We are still working through the paperwork with Georges Creek.”

A letter of intent is on the agenda for the county commissioners’ public meeting before anything is finalized, she said.

“There is a possibility that it could happen as early as next week, but there is no confirmation at this time,” Kenney said.

In the meantime, the staffing situation of the emergency services for Georges Creek needs to be clarified, she said.

“The actions are reckless”

Jonathan Dayton is president of the Allegany Garrett Counties Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association.

“We didn’t want to see it closed,” he said. “They have done a great job.”

The plan to have neighboring stations respond to calls in the Georges Creek area will result in longer wait times for people in need, Dayton said.

Because of the DES problems in Allegany County, many local emergency service providers are looking for jobs in neighboring counties or considering working in other areas, Dayton said.

“Morale has been low for some time,” he said.

“This is a sad day,” Dayton said. “Communities are built on a voluntary basis.”

Steve Corioni is president of IAFF Local 1715.

“The budget cuts imposed by the commissioners have delayed the hiring of additional staff for the county’s takeover of Georges Creek, and we have not been informed of any plans for how they plan to provide care to this community,” he said. “Unfortunately, these citizens will now have to wait for an ambulance from Westernport or Frostburg.”

Corioni described a web of disruptions for local emergency departments trying to fill gaps in coverage throughout Allegany County, which will impact operations in Garrett County.

“These measures are reckless and show the incompetence of the district administration,” said Corioni. “They are playing with people’s lives and taking measures without thinking about the long-term consequences.”

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