To the editor:

After watching the debate last evening for the Pelham Manor village elections, I would like to clarify some facts.

The new ambulance service began Jan. 1 with the Eastchester Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Since there had been no decision made for permanent housing of Pelham’s ambulance, the following arrangement was made: The Pelham town ambulance is stationed in the town parking lot from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.  From 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., the ambulance is stationed in Eastchester. This is a temporary arrangement as the town board studies what options are available for the ambulance and its staff.

The statistics for January and February show that this arrangement is currently working. If you go to the Town of Pelham website, you can see those statistics. The most significant statistic is that the response time combined for the fly car and the ambulance is under five minutes.

The ambulance service is under the auspices of the Town of Pelham and does not belong to either village.

The town board continues to work with each village on multiple issues regarding emergency services.

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

Professionally, I am an RN, having served as chief operating officer of the Visiting Nurses Association of 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 to staff our town-owned EMS 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 7-day staffing was Eastchester Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

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.