TOMS RIVER – People living in the Ortley Beach section of town said they want a permanent solution to the lack of EMS coverage on the barrier island.
Anthony Colucci, president of the Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association Inc., said that in the summer months, “people are waiting over 20 minutes for an ambulance to get here.”
The Association has been asking the township to forge a deal with Tri-Boro First Aid Squad, which is in nearby Seaside Park. The township already has a shared service agreement with the Seaside Heights Fire Department for the same reason – they are close to the area if there’s trouble. Colucci thinks that having Tri-Boro as the first responder will help keep people safe.
Colucci said that his plan would help the mainland as well, because this way, an emergency in Ortley doesn’t take an ambulance away from mainland Toms River.
Last year, Colucci said he and Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill agreed to have an ambulance roving through Ortley from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the summer.
“That’s not the answer,” Colucci said. “The answer is to get Tri-Boro.”
“We had no ambulance on the barrier island before I took office,” Hill said. He’s been mayor since 2010.
The bridge on the way to the island opens every half hour on the half hour from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. – the same times that Toms River currently has an ambulance there. After these hours, the bridge only goes up when a boater requests it. The bridge leaving the island doesn’t go up.
If the ambulance currently roving Ortley goes on a call, then Toms River sends another ambulance to replace it, he said.
There are two portions to this, Hill said, response times and economics.
Tri-Boro is volunteer, and volunteerism has been down for years. The Toms River paid EMTs that are run through the police department might have a better response time, he said.
Financially, a shared service agreement might work if all the towns sign on. He said that this is a couple of years away. New Jersey has Local Efficiency Achievement Program grants that could fund a study to determine if that’s the best way to go. The town would have to apply for the grant and be successful.
If this one ambulance during summer days was expanded to 24/7 ambulance service, it would require three shifts a day just for Monday through Friday, Hill said. There are three people on each rig. That means nine staff. Additional would be needed for weekends and to fill vacations and sick time. This would cost more than $1.5 million on personnel alone, before vehicles and equipment are factored in.
