In its first year, Hurley’s new paid ambulance service is off to a good start, but it’s often operating with just enough staff to keep round-the-clock coverage.
“We now have ambulance coverage within the town of Hurley 24/7 and we’re doing an excellent job,” said Hurley Ambulance Service president Matthew Sirni.
“Our schedule is full. Personnel has been a challenge. Every shift has been a challenge, but we’re doing it. We haven’t missed a shift yet.”
Since the beginning of the year, the ambulance service has responded to 89 calls, and of those, 42 were in February, Sirni said.
“So far, the only time we haven’t been able to respond to a call for assistance is when we were already out on a call for assistance. Those are the times we expected would happen occasionally, and we’re relying on our mutual aid partners to backfill us, just as we backfill them regularly as well when they need to.”
The ambulance service has made an effort to get more staffing so when a second call comes in, both ambulances can be put in service.
The biggest change was the recent resignation of Kent Fitzgerald, who was appointed the town’s emergency medical system manager to get the service up and running, according to Sirni.
Hurley moved to a paid ambulance service when it couldn’t find enough volunteers, forcing some calls to be answered through mutual aid by other communities. A shortage of volunteers is a problem faced by many area communities.
Cold comfort
The Hurley town board awarded a bid to a Kingston company to solve an ongoing ice dam problem at Town Hall caused by heavy snow and poor insulation.
A.B. Airsealing & Insulation Services submitted the lowest qualified bid of $14,295.80.
Town Hall lacks insulation in the attic, causing heat to escape and melt snow on the roof. The water refroze on the edges and gutters, forming ice dams and allowing water to leak inside.
“And we’ve got asbestos up there. So now we have to deal with this. This is an emergency,” Supervisor Mike Boms said.
Home work
The Hurley town board is considering a remote work policy to give workers the flexibility to work from home when needed while safeguarding public operations and sensitive information.
The draft policy stresses that work-from-home arrangements are at the discretion of supervisors, are time-limited, and that the right to work remotely will not be contractually guaranteed.
Remote work will not be used as a substitute for sick leave, leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act, or workers’ compensation.
It will be used for extenuating circumstances, such as caring for a sick child or family member, or in the event of inclement weather.
The town board was advised to set clear guidelines for safeguarding sensitive information, such as locking documents in a fire safe.
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