A new study of Ulster’s emergency medical services commissioned by county government warns that the Kingston Fire Department’s new ambulance service could have the unintended consequence of diminishing EMS services in surrounding communities as private ambulance companies shift resources to other areas. But the CEO of the county’s largest private ambulance company said service has only improved since they ceased serving Kingston in January.

The 141-page report by the Center for Public Safety Management looked at EMS services countywide and identified serious issues with coverage as volunteer resources dwindle and private service providers face major challenges recruiting and retaining trained EMTs and paramedics. The report also laid out a series of options, including providing additional financial support for existing services, using mutual aid agreements between towns to create regional ambulance services, contracting with private providers to provide dedicated service in areas with the most need and creating a county-run ambulance service to fill gaps and supplement existing resources.

Kingston, meanwhile, has charted its own course on EMS service. In January, after rejecting a deal with Empress Ambulance that would’ve provided dedicated service in the city for $1 million per year, Mayor Steve Noble made the Kingston Fire Department the first-call ambulance service for the city. Equipped with a pair of ambulances purchased last year, the KFD has been able to provide around-the-clock coverage using firefighters working overtime or temporarily pulled from regular service for ambulance runs. Last month, the Common Council approved Noble’s request to hire eight more firefighters to offset the overtime costs and to contract with an outside vendor to begin billing insurers for the service.

The authors of the CPSM report noted the change and suggested it could harm service delivery in communities outside of the city. The report notes that Empress — which acquired longtime EMS provider Mobile Life last year — would likely shift resources away from the city because of a drastic decline in call volume.

“Kingston is an operational hub for Empress, and the reduced response volume, and reduced ambulance staffing, may reduce the available resources for Empress to provide mutual or automatic aid, and Advanced Life Support (ALS) intercept services to communities who had previously utilized them for these services,” the report reads. “This will likely reduce mutual aid resources in the county, placing additional strain on the EMS system.”

But Empress CEO Robert Stuck said the KFD’s takeover of ambulance service in Kingston has actually freed up resources to respond to emergencies in Rosendale and the Town of Ulster, as well as other parts of the county. One unit previously deployed in Kingston had been moved to Modena, an area identified in the report as having some of the spottiest EMS response in the county, Stuck said. Other units, Stuck said, remain in service in Rosendale and Lake Katrine. Stuck said that in the first quarter of 2024, the company had been able to respond to 98 percent of all calls from the Town of Ulster — up from 94 percent in the last quarter of 2023.

“It’s actually strengthening the system,” said Stuck. “Because that unit in the Town of Ulster is no longer backing up the City of Kingston.”