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Residents and volunteers urge commission to support local ambulance service; JVAC offers alternative to expensive ambulance purchase
Summary
Volunteers and residents urged the Sunny Isles Beach commission to support an on-site ambulance or an MOU allowing the Jewish Volunteer Ambulance Corps to supplement emergency coverage during heavy traffic and concurrent incidents.
Several speakers addressed the commission during the citizens forum about ambulance coverage and volunteer emergency medical services.
Isaac Hirsch, representing the Jewish Volunteer Ambulance Corps (JVAC), described JVAC as an inclusive, faith-based volunteer ambulance organization and said it is already tied into the state 911 system. He said JVAC offered lower-cost partnership options and said the city could permit JVAC to work under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) alongside Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to provide supplemental coverage. "We're a supplemental agency and proudly so," Hirsch said, adding that JVAC seeks to broaden volunteer eligibility beyond a single religious community.
Other speakers emphasized response-time risks during heavy traffic or simultaneous incidents and urged the commission to support a local ambulance stationed in Sunny Isles Beach. One visitor said having an ambulance based in the city would ensure a timely response during peak-traffic windows and major incidents.
Speakers noted past city discussions about funding an ambulance (the transcript records prior conversations about a $350,000 to $500,000 figure), and JVAC representatives said charitable fundraising and donor-advised funds could offset costs. Commissioners thanked the speakers, and staff noted the record of past discussions. No formal action was taken on the citizens' forum remarks; commissioners directed staff to continue evaluating options and consider contractual or MOU frameworks if the commission requests.
