BEACON – The Beacon Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BVAC) will begin providing Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) services on March 4. More than six months of in-depth planning went into developing the first AEMT agency in Dutchess County.
Amid a nationwide EMS crisis, BVAC continues to answer nearly 3,000 calls for service annually. “The number of calls per year has been steadily increasing even as the field of EMS is in crisis,” said BVAC spokesman Anthony Tseng. AEMT service is an intermediate level of service between Basic Life Support (BLS) service by EMTs and Advanced Life Support (ALS) provided by paramedics. “BVAC is taking this step in an attempt to stay ahead of our community needs.”
BVAC covers approximately 20 square miles with a population of 25,000. Tourism, particularly those climbing Mt. Beacon during hiking season, substantially increases the daily population in the county’s southernmost city. BVAC is the only volunteer ambulance service in the county, using both paid employees and volunteers while operating as a non-profit 501 (c) (3). The organization also operates without having its own taxing jurisdiction.
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