Dutchess County officials say new supplemental EMS program is improving early response; more data due June 30

Acting Commissioner William Beal gave Dutchess County legislators an overview of the countywide supplemental EMS initiative, which began on Jan. 1, 2025, and was developed after months of regional collaboration in 2024. "My name is William Beal. I'm the acting commissioner of Dutchess County's Department Of Emergency Response," Beal said, and described a multi-pronged approach that includes workforce development, public outreach, system logistics and a BLS first-response fly-car initiative.

Beal identified the program's key performance indicators, saying the county is aiming for priority-1 call response in under nine minutes 90% of the time and to drive responses longer than 15 minutes toward zero. He described the fly-car model — EMTs responding in a non-transport vehicle to start patient care before an ambulance arrives — and said the county used grant funds to outfit vehicles and purchase lifesaving tools. "Lives have been saved in Dutchess County from these Lucas devices already," Beal said, noting the devices can cost $20,000–$30,000 and were otherwise often out of reach for volunteer agencies.

Beal provided early statistics for the program’s first quarter (January–March), reporting 544 supplemental dispatches for the quarter and noting that year-to-date through April 30 the figure was 700 calls; he cautioned the data are preliminary and that system-wide call volume across the Hudson Valley was lower than typical during the period. Legislators pressed for clarification on dispositions and the meaning of the columns in the county report; Deputy County Executive Rachel Cashmere explained that "inability to respond" measures the lack of an available primary unit and should not be summed with under-9-minute and over-15-minute metrics because it records a different phenomenon.

Beal described regional differences in coverage and contract arrangements, noting that some areas — including parts of Region 1 — lack written contracts and rely on volunteer or handshake arrangements, while other regions have full 24/7 contracted ALS coverage. He said the county has met with municipalities and providers to encourage prearranged mutual-aid, and that the program team meets weekly to refine postings and deployments. Beal also said the county has sought federal support and met with Congressman Pat Ryan about funding, while cautioning that some state EMS initiatives discussed previously may not be included in the final New York State budget.

Officials committed to providing more granular breakouts by municipality and to revisiting regional allocations after the June 30 dataset. "If you see anything that doesn't make sense, let me know, please," Beal told legislators, offering to provide district- or town-level data via email.