Letter to the Editor: Response to medical emergencies in New Castle hampered by old paging system

November 13, 2009
by Warren Hart

 

Dear Editor,

The Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps has had new radio equipment for months and yet we’re still dealing with our antiquated pager system that frequently fails. We’ve had multiple cases just in the past week in which CVAC members did not receive a page for a medical emergency and so could not respond immediately. We have back-up procedures in place that ensure that other members will respond, but this can cause delays. 

What’s the problem? To use the new equipment we possess we need a new frequency assigned by the Federal Communications Commission. In a post-9/11 world, one would think that the FCC would aggressively support emergency response agencies looking to improve their communications systems. Instead, we’ve met with bureaucratic delay after bureaucratic delay and still do not have our new frequency. 

Over the past three weeks, officers and members of the Corps have written to our Congresswoman, Nita Lowey, to ask for her help. She has a strong reputation for providing constituent services so we all thought this would help get the FCC in gear. Instead, we have not yet had a single response from Congresswoman Lowey and we’re still waiting for the FCC. 

Why the new system is a vast improvement over the old system

If you or someone in your family has as a stroke or a heart attack, or falls off a ladder or is hit by a car, what do you do? You dial 911. You expect that help will come quickly. 

Your 911 call is routed to the New Castle Police Department where a trained dispatcher listens to you, assesses the situation and calls on the right emergency resources. Typically, responders would include New Castle police officers and members of the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Depending on the situation, a paramedic and, in many motor vehicle accidents, possibly members of the Chappaqua or Millwood Fire Departments might be dispatched too. 

The police activate CVAC members through pagers. When the CVAC crew on duty are paged, they report to ambulance headquarters on North Greeley Avenue and immediately drive in the ambulance to the scene of the medical emergency. 

The current paging dispatch system is old, balky, and only offers one-way communication.  To address technical problems and enable new functions such as two-way communication with police and between Corps members, we worked with the town administration and designed a new system, raised the money for a new system and purchased a new system over the summer. 

How you can help CVAC help

you

We at CVAC will continue to try to obtain a new frequency from the FCC. You can help by contacting Congresswoman Lowey and encouraging her to do two things: 1) intervene with the FCC on our behalf and 2) explore the broader question of why the FCC doesn’t seem to understand the importance of helping emergency services agencies. You can reach her via the “contact me” area of her web site at http://lowey.house.gov (this address listed for her is hyperlinked to her web site, where you will have to know all nine digits of your zip code to access an email form—find your zip code HERE), or by snail mail—her Washington, D.C. and White Plains addresses are below. Why not do it right now?

I’ve been part of the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps for the past eight years and I know that we have a strong set of truly committed volunteers. It’s time for our federal government to step up and allow our volunteer corps to serve our community better by bringing our communications system out of the 1980’s. 

Warren E. Hart

Washington, D.C. Office
2329 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
202-225-6506
202-225-0546 (fax)

White Plains District Office
222 Mamaroneck Ave., #310
White Plains, NY 10605
914-428-1707
914-328-1505 (fax)