Perinton Volunteer Ambulance Corps Educates Chamber on Tax Dollar Use

Article Source: http://www.gvpennysaver.com/my_hometown/announcements/community/perinton...

Photo by: David Sansone

The Perinton Volunteer Ambulance Corps hosted an event for the Fairport-Perinton Chamber. Ambulance President Jon LeRoy shared the organization's history and what tax dollars are doing for community residents.

The Perinton Volunteer Ambulance Corps was founded 50 years ago on April 30, 1965. It began as a project for the Lions Club, but became a part-time, volunteer based service on September 1 of that year. They provided basic life-support service for the residents of the Village of Fairport and the Town of Perinton. In the beginning, the service was only available evenings and weekends, but they expanded into a full 24/7 service by the late 1970s. They maintained 100% all-volunteer crew coverage for 20 years.

With the new millennium, availability of volunteers dropped while call volume increased, which led to the adjustment in staffing in 2011. The Corps became a “combination service” which meant that they operated with volunteers as well as hourly personnel. This allowed them to keep pace with the community, and better serve their needs.

The Perinton Volunteer Ambulance Corps currently operates with a fleet of 4 ambulances, a first response vehicle, and an incident report trailer. They are located at 1400 Turk Hill Road, adjacent to the Town Hall. In addition to emergency response, the Corps offers a loan cupboard stocked with walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, and canes. They also offer free blood pressure checks to anyone who stops in, and File of Life emergency information cards, which are available at their quarters, events they staff, and certain pharmacies around town. In addition, they sponsor an Explorer Post through the Boy Scouts of America, provide scholarships to high school seniors who are pursuing health-related studies in college, and sponsor CPR and First Aid training to Fairport High School students through a local American Heart Association training center.

Jon shared with the Chamber that tax dollars help subsidize the cost of ambulance service, reducing out-of-pocket user expenses.

Ellen Reynolds of Aflac and Event Coordinator on the Chamber Board reflected on this service to our community, “We take this type of service for granted until we find ourselves in need. It is comforting to know in advance that financial help will be forthcoming if the need arises for emergency transportation care. The Chamber members in attendance are now more aware of services offered by the Perinton Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Chamber events hosted at member locations are for that purpose - - exposure throughout our community.”