Utica willing to file an Article 78 to continue operating its ambulance service
On Tuesday night, members of the Midstate Regional Emergency Medical Services Council voted to deny the city of Utica’s application for a certificate of need that would have allowed it to continue responding to medical calls with ambulances. The council feels that Utica failed to prove that a need exists for the city ambulance service.
The city has 30 days to appeal this decision and the Mayor plans to appeal right away. The appeal would be filed with the state Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the state Department of Health. If the state agrees with the decision made by the regional council then Utica’s next course of action would be to file an Article 78 appeal in state court. Utica officials feel that their ambulance service provides a continuity of care that is not present with the private ambulances. Another benefit of the city ambulance service is that it generates an average of $540,000 in profit yearly for the city.
