Alstar Opts Out Of Mutual Aid Agreement With City
There has been a change in a mutual response call agreement between the city of Jamestown and Alstar EMS.
On Thursday, Eddie Sundquist, Jamestown mayor, told The Post-Journal that city officials have been notified that Alstar has optioned out of a mutual aid agreement to refund the city a certain dollar amount for each emergency call the Jamestown Fire Department handles. Sundquist said the city and Alstar had operated under the agreement for many years, with Alstar being the primary responder with the city being the secondary responder during emergency ambulance calls.
The former WCA Hospital, now known as UPMC Chautauqua, with a division known as Alstar EMS, is the primary provider of EMS transport in the city. The Jamestown Fire Department isn’t the primary ambulance service provider for the city, but fills in when Alstar is out of service.
Cecil Miller, UPMC Chautauqua vice president of operations, said UPMC officials sent the notification to city officials because they would like a new agreement. The previous one was first signed in the mid-1990s.
“The contract dates back to 1996. We felt it’s time to update it,” Miller said. “We’ve also requested to meet with the mayor and city officials to discuss the future of EMS calls in the city.”
Miller said there are a lot of untrue rumors circulating in the city that Alstar is going out of business.
“That is not the case,” he said.
See Thursday’s edition of The Post-Journal for complete coverage.