Marlborough Supervisor Scott Corcoran began looking at other ambulance services when he saw the cost of their current provider Mobile Life rise dramatically. This led to an invitation to Mike Witkowski, Chief EMS Operations Officer for Ambulnz, who gave a presentation several weeks ago to the board on options that his company could provide to the residents of Marlborough.

On Monday evening the Town Board approved a five-year contract with Ambulnz, starting in 2023. The company will provide 24/7 emergency medical services and also provide standby services upon request within the Town of Marlborough. This will include one Advanced Life Support [ALS] ambulance and crew, staffed with a NYS Certified EMT and Paramedic 24/7 and will be dedicated exclusively to the Town of Marlborough.

The Town Board’s resolution stated that the annual contract with Ambulnz is $450,304 but the company agreed to allow the town to pay $350,000 for the first year because the town’s 2023 budget has already been approved. This will be paid in 12 monthly installments of $29,166.67. In addition, both entities agreed that the $100,304 difference will be broken into 48 monthly installments of $2,089.67 and be paid to the Ambulnz, starting in year two of the contract.

The contract with Marlborough also stipulates that the town and Ambulnz will meet each year prior to the town’s budget season, to review the financial performance of the previous year and negotiate the following year’s subsidy, based upon the expense and income. It also contains a clause stating that the annual subsidy for a future year is capped at – and will not exceed – 3% more than the prior year’s annual subsidy ($450,304), exclusive of the 48 monthly installments that began in year two of the contract.

Witkowski said Ambulnz is a global company that started operating in California in 2015. Two years later they relocated their corporate headquarters to Manhattan and today they provide ambulatory services in 26 states as well as in the United Kingdom. In New York they are currently running 275 ambulances and employ from 800 to 900 people on a daily basis and about 5,000 globally. In 2021 the company went public and is now traded on NASDAQ.

The company has local headquarters in Newburgh and is currently in negotiations to provide ALS service to the newly-formed Town of Montgomery Ambulance District.

Corcoran described a personal experience he feels will make this arrangement with Ambulnz very beneficial to the residents of Marlborough.

“It only takes one call and one person and they don’t survive because we didn’t have an ALS coverage there within a certain amount of time,” he said. “It happened to my mother and if she had an ALS provider there in the time it should have been there, she’d probably still be living today.”

In closing, Corcoran took a moment to thank Mobile Life for their long service to the community.