Indian Lake leaders and ambulance captain urge state recognition and support for volunteer EMS

Captain Josh Wells of the Indian Lake Volunteer Ambulance Corp. briefed the board on the ambulance corps' annual activities and growing staffing needs, seeking support as the organization faces recruitment and retention challenges. Supervisor Wells said the state has not recognized EMS as an essential service and argued that designation — with retirement benefits — would help fix volunteer and staffing problems, stating, "The way to fix the volunteer problem, the staffing problem, is to set them up as an essential service, get them a retirement system and do it the right way." Councilperson Howard added that many calls in the Adirondacks involve injured tourists and suggested state funding should cover those responses.

Why it matters: emergency medical services are a core public-safety function in rural Adirondack towns and persistent volunteer shortages can strain response capacity. The board heard the annual overview and discussed advocacy options. No formal town-level legislative action on EMS designation was taken during the workshop; the discussion was recorded to inform future budget and advocacy work.