Teaming Up to Save Lives

The responsibility for ambulance service in Nassau County rests, in part, on the shoulders of some of the busiest volunteer fire departments and ambulance corps in the Northeast.  Staffing of ambulances with volunteers trained to the paramedic level has been a challenge for many volunteer agencies, especially during weekday daytime hours.

The Center for Emergency Medical Services (CEMS), in partnership with the Incorporated Village of Rockville Centre, has launched a program that is the first of its kind in the Long Island region to address staffing concerns of volunteer agencies. During daytime hours Monday through Friday, CEMS operates an ALS ambulance, staffed with Paramedic personnel, within the confines of the Village of Rockville Centre as a branch of the Rockville Centre Fire Department.

A Valuable Community Service

Since the program’s inception, access to advanced life support has increased having a marked effect on patient outcomes.  CEMS managers track patient outcomes each month, proving the axiom that early access to advanced life support treatment in the field increases survival rates and improves patient outcome.

Forging Strong Relationships

More importantly, the Rockville Centre Partnership program brings the North Shore-LIJ Health System into the community in a very real and visible way. Health System employees responding as part of the 911 system initiate the patient’s experience with the Health System far in advance of the patient reaching the emergency department-ensuring a continuous, positive experience at an otherwise difficult time for patient and their families.

Also, our paramedics and EMT's are working alongside community members to forge stronger relationships each day. These relationships will continue to position the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System as a leader in pre-hospital emergency medical care throughout the region.