To the editor:

As deputy supervisor of the Town of Pelham charged with oversight of emergency services for the past 21 years, I wanted to provide some additional context to recent updates about our new, dedicated town ambulance.

Professionally, I am a registered nurse, having served as chief operating officer of the Visiting Nurse Association of the Hudson Valley for decades. This experience has provided me with the requisite knowledge to navigate this system. At the outset of my tenure, the town board selected Empress Emergency Medical Services to staff our town-owned advanced life support fly car and provide backup transportation.

Fast forward 20 years! Following extensive evaluation and review of pertinent statistics, it became clear that the level of our current EMS services had diminished exponentially, necessitating action steps. Through the leadership of Town Supervisor Dan McLaughlin and myself, as the liaison for the town’s emergency services, we created a community advisory group that included EMS industry experts that reside in Pelham to study the current environment and assess our options going forward. This process resulted in a landmark decision to go out to bid for provision of emergency services to the community. The vendor selected to provide 24-hour, seven-day staffing is Eastchester Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which will begin servicing Pelham in January 2024.

Wednesday was a banner day for the Town of Pelham. We received the delivery of our town-owned ambulance, which will also be in service in January. The health and safety of our community has always been the town council’s priority and should never have become political!

The new agreement will bring a higher standard of care and life-saving ability to our citizens, which was the ultimate goal from the very beginning. Thank you to my colleagues on the town council, especially McLaughlin, as well as our state elected officials for supporting our shared vision for emergency services in our special town.

Rae Szymanski

88 Linden Ave.