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Public Safety Committee weighs county role in EMS as rapid-response gaps grow
Summary
Tompkins County's Public Safety Committee discussed growing strain on emergency medical services, Department of Emergency Response plans to pursue a municipal Certificate of Need to expand Rapid Medical Response billing and capacity, and public commenters urged clearer local coordination for fly‑cars and mutual aid.
Tompkins County Public Safety Committee members on Feb. 25 focused on growing shortfalls in emergency medical services and the county’s options for responding, including pursuing a municipal Certificate of Need.
The committee heard public comment from paramedic James Smith, who urged caution about moving “fly cars” into Ithaca without exhausting mutual aid and raised fiscal questions about who would pay if the county provided rapid-response vehicles while the city contracted its fire department to stop responding to certain medical codes. “I’m not in favor of the fly cars coming into the city unless all mutual aid resources have been exhausted,” Smith said.
County Department of Emergency Response staff stressed…
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