Photo by Joanne Beck
Fiscal year 2023 was one of “rebuilding” due to the loss of helicopters and the tragic death of a pilot in April 2022. However, the number of ground ambulance calls hit a high, Mercy Flight Executive Vice President Scott Wooton says.
“We actually spent most of the year that fiscal year with only two helicopters as opposed to four, which we're now back up to. But it wasn't until June of 2023 that we took delivery of a third. And then in August, when we got our fourth. So certainly from the flight standpoint of things, it was a very low, very kind of down year for us in terms of being able to respond to the demand for services,” Wooton said during his annual report to county legislators this week. “Ground ambulance activity, as opposed to air ambulance, was the highest year we've had on record. And we've continued to see that's been a trend since 2009.”
A year-to-year comparison would show that air response was down, he said, and out of the 187 requests for air ambulance service, Mercy Flight completed 65 helicopter transports, and another nine were ground transports, he said. Another 78 of those 187 requests were canceled by the caller as not needed, “which is, generally a good thing,” he said, “and then 34 were canceled due to inclement weather conditions that prevented us from being able to fly.”
The nonprofit had to deal with a major financial and emotional blow when pilot James Sauer and a flight instructor died in a crash while aboard a Mercy Flight helicopter on April 26, 2022, in Elba. The company and staff have gradually recovered and built the fleet back up while not only maintaining but growing ground ambulance services, which Wooton opted to include in his report.
“In the past, we've always sort of reported on air ambulance activity in this meeting, but I did add in ground ambulance activity as well. Obviously, the grant that we request is really intended to support the air ambulance service; we have a separate contract with the county related to our ground ambulance service. But again, I figured we'll report on that as well,” Wooton said. “When we came to Genesee County and started performing ground ambulance service, we've just seen a continual sort of organic growth in requests and in transports for ground ambulance services. Certainly, we're receiving very generous support from Genesee County to ensure adequate staffing and stability in our staffing for our ground ambulance service. And that has been very much appreciated.
“I want to make sure that's made very clear, that's been an enormous benefit for us and our employees. What we've committed to do and what we're doing is taking that support from the county and passing it right on to our providers in the form of pay increases,” he said. “And obviously, what that's done for us is helped to stabilize the staffing so that we're meeting the minimum requirements set by our contract.”
He said that Genesee County’s commitment to Mercy Flight EMS “is really a win-win” for everyone. It means having the infrastructure and systems already in place for that ground ambulance response. The county and nonprofit struck a deal that runs from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2026, for $452,460 per year.
“So just some more information on ground ambulance, we received over 10,000, almost 11,000 requests for service that resulted in about 8,300 instances of patient contact, most of those being transports to a facility, but that could be things like lift assists or a treatment release,” he said. “Again, these represent all-time highs for our system here in Genesee County. In November 2022, Mercy Flight EMS absorbed the New York State Department of Health certificate of need that had previously belonged to COVA in Orleans County. We made our best effort to continue to serve Orleans County with the 35 employees that we hired from COVA, and we continued to do that … until April 2023 when Monroe Ambulance obtained the contract for the six or seven towns in Central and Eastern Orleans.”
Mercy Flight EMS has taken those 35 employees and folded them into its Genesee and Niagara County operations, he said, which has helped stabilize staffing.
In looking ahead, Wooton said the nonprofit has hired several pilots, flight medics and flight nurses to replace some staffing lost through attrition over the past two years.
“So I think, as of probably about a month or so from now, we're going to have a full complement of flight paramedics, flight nurses that are out of orientation, and many of them coming from other services where they have plenty of helicopter EMS experience or are very longtime ground ambulance paramedics that are looking to get their wings if you will,” he said. “So all signs are really pointing to Mercy Flight being back on firm footing and being ready to respond and help the residents and many visitors of Genesee County.”
Legislators who are part of the Human Services Committee tentatively approved Mercy Flight’s request for $12,825 in funding. The request will go to the full Legislature for a vote next Wednesday.
