Texas-Based Medics Respond to Dozens of Broome Ambulance Calls

Ambulance crews from the Dallas-area provided emergency service for several days in Broome County because of a critical shortage of medics.

Broome County emergency medical services coordinator Raymond Serowik said two units from Medical Jets of Texas were deployed for several shifts since last Wednesday.

The ambulances were made available under the National Ambulance Contract overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Teams from Medical Jets were dispatched to the towns of Union and Chenango this month because of medic shortages.

A Union Volunteer Emergency Squad ambulance on a call in Endicott. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

Serowik said the crews worked 12-hour overnight shifts last Wednesday and Thursday after the Union Volunteer Emergency Squad reported more than 40 percent of its staff had Covid-19 symptoms.

Although the out-of-state ambulances have left Broome County, Serowik said he expects there may be a need for similar assistance in the future because of pandemic-related issues as well as some "nasty seasonal illnesses."

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.

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