Northern Schuylkill COG reorganizes, retains officers, could hear report on EMS crisis at future meeting

MAHANOY CITY – The Northern Schuylkill Council of Governments reorganized Wednesday night, retaining the same officers as last year.

The council of governments includes the boroughs of Shenandoah, Ashland, Mahanoy City, Frackville, Ringtown, and the townships of Butler, East Union, Ryan, Schuylkill, Union, and West Mahanoy, among others, as well as the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority.

Delegates at Wednesday’s meeting at the Mahanoy Township Municipal Meeting were from West Mahanoy Township, SCMA, Schuylkill Township, Ringtown, Frackville, Ashland, Mahanoy Township, and Mahanoy City.

With Wednesday’s meeting being the annual reorganization meeting, they voted to retain the same officers as they had last year. Clyde “Champ” Holman, of Ryan Township, remains chairman, with Paul “Pepper” Martin, of West Mahanoy Township, serving as vice chairman, and Mary Beth Dougherty serving as secretary/treasurer.

In other business, the council could soon hear a presentation regarding the current state of the Emergency Medical Services industry in the region.

Dougherty asked the group if they would be open to inviting someone from the Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency to present on the issue.

“It’s bad and I don’t think people realize, I don’t think our residents realize how bad it is,” Dougherty says. “You assume you dial 911 and the ambulance is going to show up and from everything I’ve seen and heard, we’re pretty close to it not being as easy as that anymore.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to hear what’s going on,” Adam Bernodin, Ashland’s delegate, said.

Martin mentioned how his township donated $250 to the Shenandoah Community Ambulance Association in response to a letter requesting assistance.

“I don’t know what the long-term answer is but I think people need to start hearing about it,” Dougherty said.

The presentation would be at a future meeting.

EMS agencies have struggled to maintain staffing in recent years as volunteers dwindled and organizations shifted towards paid, full-time staff. Several EMS agencies have either merged or closed in recent years as well, including Lost Creek, Ringtown, Nuremberg, and Girardville.

That has forced other agencies to take on a larger coverage area. Shenandoah’s primary coverage area around 2010 included Shenandoah, Shenandoah Heights, Turkey Run, and the Yatesville area. Now, it includes Lost Creek to the west, and much of the Ringtown Valley as far north as Nuremberg. Their ambulances, especially the Advanced Life Support (ALS) crews, are regularly called to points farther as well, including the Mount Carmel area.

In the letter sent to Shenandoah Ambulance’s municipalities, Rick Examitas, president of the association, said they estimate they will respond to 4,000 calls in 2024 and are experiencing rising costs, such as a $12,100 insurance hike.

“All of this occurs without our organization seeing an increase in the reimbursable amounts for services rendered,” Examitas wrote. “Our primary population served are covered by government insurance (Medicare or Medicaid) who have fixed rates for reimbursement that have not increased to keep up with the expenses.”

He said the ambulance regularly applies for grants to cover their costs, and many are awarded, but most cannot be used for day-to-day expenses.

With no local hospital in northern Schuylkill County, local ambulances can also be stretched thin transporting patients to Pottsville or Hazleton, even as far as the Allentown area or Danville for critical patients if air medical is unavailable.

Dougherty said in previous presentations at other venues, EMA has discussed the various challenges EMS agencies face along with supporting statistics.

“It wasn’t ‘you need to do this, you need to do that,’ it was ‘these are the numbers,’ he talked about calls and response times and stuff like that,” Dougherty said. “I think it’s an issue that isn’t getting a lot of attention and its something people always expect to be there.”

“They’re hurting, fire companies are hurting, what’s the answer? I have no idea,” Martin said. “Money’s tight for people too.”

The presentation would likely be at the council’s March meeting. They meet every two months.

In other business, the council discussed the possibility of purchasing a new crack-sealer, which member municipalities could rent. They also discussed repairs for a damaged sidewalk sweeper.

The council also received an update on the ongoing revitalization efforts at the Pumping Station Dam in East Union Township. The dam, locally known as the Pumpy, is a former surface water source-turned-recreation area owned by Shenandoah borough.

Dave Sarno told the council that he had been in contact with State Rep. Dane Watro (R-116) about potential grant opportunities.

He said that they may be able to use the property as the matching portion of some state grants.

Sarno told the Sentinel last March that the volunteer group envisions the Pumpy becoming a “Sweet Arrow [Lake] of the north.”

Sarno said at that time, along with restoring fishing, the group hopes to add nature trails and carry-in campsites at the dam.

This year, Sarno said the group is working with Shenandoah borough council, which as formed a committee to spearhead the efforts on their end.

“We are caretakers,” Sarno said, recognizing that the borough owns the property and saying he believes the borough should assist as well.

Martin noted that, in his township, Frackville borough owns the Whippoorwill recreation area, which is maintained and operated by the South End Field and Stream Association.

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