This past week, the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps (WVAC) issued a press release about the number of calls it responded to in 2023, noting that the service was dispatched to a record 1,713 calls for medical assistance last year.
Officials from WVAC said that while this amount was only a small increase (24 calls) over the 2022 call volume (1,689 in 2022), they are more concerned that 2023 saw an increase of 220 calls more than 2021 (with 1,493 calls), or nearly 15% higher in just two years.
“If this is the new base for emergency calls in Wilton, we as an organization are very concerned that it will only increase with current and planned apartment complexes being built in the Town. This growth would affect all of the Town’s emergency services, not just WVAC,” WVAC President John Miscioscia said in the release.
“The increase in the call volume was mainly driven by higher calls to nursing homes and medical facilities in Wilton. The four nursing homes in Wilton and the various medical facilities added 248 calls from 2021 data, while calls to other types of locations decreased by 28.”
The press release attributed the medical facility increase primarily to Soundview Medical Associates, which moved from Norwalk into Wilton at 50 Danbury Rd.
The press release noted that “call volume and the timing of emergency calls cannot be predicted and can put a strain on emergency resources.”
WVAC currently staffs one ambulance (the duty rig) at all times. Home responders and mutual aid ambulances from surrounding towns provide coverage for WVAC in the event there is more than one call at a time, but that increases response time to the patients in need. In 2023, mutual aid ambulances and home responders responded to 175 calls, which is almost double the amount from 2021.
WVAC officials say they will be closely monitoring future call volume “and will assess the need for any changes in the way we operate,” according to the press release.
Miscioscia told GOOD Morning Wilton that includes looking at all options to ensure timely coverage of any additional workload, including adding an additional 2-3 person crew during high volume times of the day along with assessing that cost/benefit.
“Every time a call goes to mutual aid we lose billing revenue,” Miscioscia explained. “If we can capture that revenue [with an additional crew] it would hopefully offset [any related] cost increase.”
But adding additional personnel can be costly, depending on who they are. WVAC currently pays Norwalk hospital EMT’s to staff the ambulance Monday thru Friday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., while volunteers cover the rest of the time.
“We clearly could not afford a second full paid crew. And if we paid our volunteers a small stipend to sign on from home that may not work and we have to be careful about volunteer status. We are not a critical stage yet, but we need to be ready for when it and if it happens,” Miscioscia said.
WVAC is always interested in adding to the current certified membership roster.
“We are hoping to get more members out of our annual EMT class,” Miscioscia said, of the 12-week certification course that started last October and will finish in February. Those who get certified can join WVAC as volunteer members starting in March. But there’s a continual need for new members, with a membership base that’s heavy with high school- and college-aged members, something Miscioscia said can be “a challenge.”
Miscioscia’s message is clear — that increasing Wilton’s population along with the tax rolls will impact all emergency services in town — and WVAC fully expects an increase in calls for service, along with increased costs.
What do the chiefs of the other emergency services in town say?
Wilton Fire Chief Jim Blanchfield said proportionally staffing the Wilton Fire Department is always top of mind.
“Staffing continues to be a topic of discussion with Town leadership, not just in regards to any future projects but also as to where we are as a Town now, as compared to 20 years ago, the last time the Wilton Fire Department saw any change in staffing,” he told GMW in an email. “As Wilton continues to evolve, so will the Fire Department, but the mission and challenges remain the same — to provide the needed and required professional service levels to all of the Wilton community.
Wilton Police Chief Thomas Conlan agreed that his department is “definitely” monitoring the increase in apartment complexes in town, although he cautions that coming out of the pandemic, statistical data on overall calls for service that the WPD responds to may be “a little skewed.”
“The Police Department has seen an 8% year-over-year increase in calls for service (CFS) for 2023 as compared to 2022, [but] it should be noted that this is still about 1,300 less CFS than the prior five-year high in 2018,” Conlan told GMW.
The department is budgeted to have 45 officers on staff, a total that was increased from 44 by town officials in November 2022, as a response to traffic safety concerns on local roads.
“So at this time we feel that the Police Department has enough resources to handle the increased residential growth, but it is something we will be evaluating as we move forward,” Conlon added.