About The Johnsburg Emergency Squad (JES)
About Johnsburg Emergency Squad
Our Mission: Johnsburg Emergency Squad’s mission is to deliver timely, professional emergency medical care in a compassionate manner to those residents and visitors within our service area and to our neighbors in nearby communities
Providing Quality Care: Johnsburg Emergency Squad, Inc. (JES) is a private, non-profit 501 (c) (3) company. JES holds a NYS Department of Health Certificate Of Need (operating certificate) covering all the area within the towns of Minerva and Johnsburg. We are a 24/7 Advanced Life Support Agency regulated by Mt. Lakes Regional EMS located in Queensbury. Our nearest medical facility is Glens Falls Hospital where our Medical Director, Dr. Benjamin Katz, supervises the delivery of medical care.
Our Caregivers: All of our medical care providers are certified EMTs or Advanced EMTs or Paramedics whose individual work is carefully scrutinized both internally and by our Medical Director. Each care provider must recertify their credentials every three years and complete training each month.
Helping Our Residents and Visitors: Our District covers more than 366 square miles of the Adirondack Park, and includes the Gore Mountain Ski Area, Garnet Hill Ski Center, Elderwood Nursing Home, Minerva Lake, and parts of the Hudson Gorge. We intercept other calls for our northern neighbors in Hamilton and Essex County to lend an ALS tech or deliver needed drugs.
We also lend mutual aid to Indian Lake, Newcomb, Chester, and northern Thurman. JES stands by to assist seven local fire departments at fires or emergency weather events.
Our Vehicles: JES currently operates 3 ambulances: #757–a 2022 4WD Mercedes Sprinter, #756–a 2019 4WD Mercedes Sprinter, and #758–a 2021 4WD Mercedes Sprinter. Ambulance 758 is owned by the Town of Minerva and is stationed in Olmstedville.
Our First Responders: Because our district covers such a large area, we sometimes rely on first responders who can get there faster. They are equipped with AEDs and Personal Medical Equipment to start emergent care when every minute counts.
Modern Technology: Our state of the art EKG monitor defibrillators (Life-Pak 15) are connected to velocitors which allow the emergency room doctors to actually see what is happening with the patient within the ambulance and prepare a surgical team in advance of the ambulance’s arrival if need be. Our electronic patient care reports are sent electronically to the hospital and keep all information private.
Who we are: Johnsburg Emergency Squad maintains an Advanced Life Support duty crew 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our 30 members are a mix of highly qualified caregivers, drivers and first responders, nearly all of whom live within our borders.
Johnsburg Emergency Squad Roster
Our Board of Directors: Chairperson, Arthur Webb; Secretary, Dr Beth Maher; Directors, Alice Halloran, Gerry Harris, Kelly Nessle, Terri Strohmeyer, Bill Thomas.
Our Officers: Joe Connelly, Executive Director; Kevin Fusco, Operations Manager; Steven Levett, Bookkeeper, Cameron Dubay, Minerva OM
Our Paramedics: Michael Corey, Joe Connelly, Simon Gardner, Thomas Gulley, Elijah Harrison, Jacob Sauer Jones, Michelle SanAntonio, Cameron Dubay, John Arnold, Jane Boxall, Corey Ouellette, and Cameron Dubay CCT.
Our Advanced EMTs: Kevin Fusco, Jonathan Ordway, Christine Mitchell
Our EMTs: Zachary Boucher, Andrew Bulmer, Eathen Galusha, Juan Pesquera, Pam Waterston, Karen Wright, Reece Hlavaty, Ben Gardner and Tim Seely
Our Drivers: James Gonyo, Chad Haneman, Logan McKinney, Mark Roberts, James Tipa, Ernest Dunkley and JD Stepongzi
Our Medical Director: Dr. Ben Katz
Funding
EMS Johnsburg Emergency Squad (JES) is a private, non-profit, charity organized for the public good. 100% of all funds generated by JES are used to operate an ambulance service within the community. It is also a business that operates 24/7. In November of 2014 the townspeople of Johnsburg passed an ambulance tax district. The money from the district allows the squad to now pay competitive salaries to its employees, and for the first time offer benefits. The squad now provides salaries to its operations manager and president. This year it was able to purchase a much needed third ambulance. All revenue generated from patient billing goes into the tax district, and can only be used for EMS. Each year the squad and the town board put together a budget based on revenue predictions and operational expenses. The tax district ensures that the squad will continue to provide quality and timely care far into the future.
Our rates are based on the services of a paid ALS tech and driver and the use of a well-maintained and well-stocked ambulance. The rates are comparable to the rates charged by other agencies in the area—all of whom have a much shorter distance to cover and much less time devoted to each call. The type of call impacts the cost as the use of drugs and medical supplies affects the costs. We can only charge for the number of miles we transport a patient, thus the miles to the scene of the emergency, the miles to answer a call when we find no patient, the miles covered to find a patient refusing service are all time, wear and tear, and fuel costs not covered.
Our Rates BLS Emergency $900, ALS Emergency $1200, ALS Intercept $350, Mileage $20/mile
These rates are comparable to other rates in the area, and are the best rates paid by the insurance companies. The squad cannot afford to charge less than what insurance companies will pay. This is especially important because the government reimburses at a much lower rate, and 67% of patients have medicaid, medicare, or no insurance.
You can Donate through The Adirondack Foundation – Use the Pull-down menu to select Johnsburg Emergency Squad.