NEW LONDON — Firelands Ambulance Service District Board has appointed Jeffrey Scott as its new Chief over the volunteer agency.
While Scott has been with Firelands for only a short time as a volunteer Paramedic, the Board unanimously agreed he is the right person to fill this position, to lead the agency, and its volunteers into the future, the board stated.
Scott is an Ashland native, and has served a wide variety of roles all throughout his career, including his beginnings as a Fire Explorer in 1986 with Ashland Fire Department, becoming a volunteer Firefighter/EMT in 1989 with Orange Township (Nankin).
In 1991, he accepting a fulltime firefighter/paramedic position in Columbus and graduating from Hocking College with his associate degrees in EMS and Fire Science.
Scott’s education also includes a bachelor’s degree in public safety management and a master’s degree in business administration, both from Franklin University.
Scott eventually moved on to attending the police academy in 1996, after several years as an arson investigator, and eventually moved into a full-time law enforcement career, rising through the ranks, and retiring finally as a Police Chief in 2019 for an agency in the Cleveland area.
Meanwhile, he was continuing his work as a firefighter (Lieutenant), paramedic, Chief paramedic, EMS instructor, emergency management coordinator, and his years as a fixed wing and helicopter flight paramedic and critical care paramedic.
Jeffrey has served over 37 years in the public safety arena, and he has no intentions of slowing down, in order to serve and help others … his life’s passion and focus, the board stated.
Scott is also a nationally recognized leadership instructor and often sought to help agencies in leadership development, strategic planning, and budgeting.
While Scott is considered a relative newcomer to the New London community, he brings a mountain of leadership and community focused experience with him.
Scott has already made a notable difference already, helping locate grants and money to upgrade pediatric rescue equipment, station maintenance and reorganization, implementing a progressive safety plan, to include an innovative BLOCKER program, and he is already implementing ways to save money on EMS and station supplies.
Chief Scott is also providing motivation for the volunteers, and taking a pie to the face recently, along with the agencies new Captain, Jeff Vanderpool, in recognition for the Volunteer EMS Association’s latest fundraiser.
Scott has been working with the Board to focus on critical areas, needs, and upgrades of the agency, including a strategic focus on safety measures for the crews, and upgrading out-of-date organization and aged equipment.
Scott is living up to his mantra: a patient first focus.
Scott has many ideas already in the works, and has hit the ground running, truly working with the Board to keep a forward momentum and positive focus on needed upgrades and a new vision to serve the community.
Scott has also been meeting regularly and working alongside agency volunteers on calls, listening to crew input, and developing a critical needs list to ensure the Firelands EMS volunteers are working towards excellence in service and having the right tools and the right training for those in need.
These initial needs have been formally presented to the Board, and he hopes to start working on developing the agency’s new 5-year Strategic Plan in the coming months.
Scott has a proven track record for building and rebuilding agencies, being a leader from the front, and driving them to excellence in operation, compliance, and service.
“The people we are called to care for are long-time community members, neighbors, friends, friends of friends, and even those who are just passing through or by, but everyone deserves our best, every time they call 911 for help,” Scott said.
“We are not ‘just’ volunteers. We are EMS professionals who give back to their community and care for others in need, day, and night.
“It is our obligation to make sure we are doing our part to offer professional, compassionate care, every person, every time.”
Scott acknowledges that nationwide, Emergency Medical Services is challenged with staffing needs and shortages, critical funding shortages, and a huge burden to figure out how to make sure an EMS crew responds when people call 911.
While Firelands is blessed with a very dedicated staff of EMS volunteers (a mix of volunteer paramedics, EMT’s and Emergency Medical Responders), Firelands is not alone in its struggle to make sure there are enough staff around town to cover 24/7/365, and especially as volunteers.
“EMS is not a 9-5 operation; it is 24 hours a day, 7-days a week”, Scott says. While EMS staffing is one of the biggest challenges for any volunteer agency, the cost of living for everyone is obviously hitting people’s homes too. Scott shared that the cost for EMS trucks, monitors, and supplies has risen astronomically and exponentially over the past 4 years, at rates never seen before.
This places a tremendous burden on any budget, especially a volunteer agencies budget.
“EMS Ambulances just six years ago cost nearly $150-175,000,” Scott said. “Pricing now (2024) for that same new EMS unit is over $340,000 and there is a 2- to 3-year waiting list now, just to get a new one delivered.
“Cardiac and vital sign monitors, which are a central piece of equipment nearly every patient needs, has gone from $15k to over $45k each, and other larger EMS items have skyrocketed in cost too.
“(That has placed) Firelands and other volunteer agencies in a strain to make sure they have the best equipment possible, when calls come in and patients are in need of help in an emergency crisis or situation.”
Firelands currently operates off two small 1-mil levies, thus, finding alternative funding sources is one of the most difficult obstacles they and other volunteer agencies face.
More agencies are competing for grants, all the while, grant availability is decreasing nationwide.
While Firelands has been extremely frugal in their spending over the years, trying to make each dollar stretch, equipment must be replaced, especially with an aging fleet, and equipment that needs replaced due to expiration or wear from use over the years.
Firelands has now gone from maybe 280 calls a year, 10 years ago, to now averaging over 700-800 calls a year. Increased run volumes equal increased costs for personnel, training, equipment, and everything needed to handle these calls.
“The community has been extremely supportive and generous over the years,” Scott said. “We are going to have to seek funding avenues to replace trucks and desperately needed equipment by exploring and exhausting every possible grant and funding opportunity that may exist.
“Future staffing is also an ongoing situation that is of equal importance and focus, to make sure we are there when the community calls. We are working now to explore several grants, in hopes we can get some smaller equipment needs and replacements done.
“But the larger, more costly expenses become our biggest challenge and finding the funding needed to ensure we can help our neighbors in their moment of need.”
Firelands EMS is not alone, as this is a nationwide crisis unfolding, especially in rural communities throughout the U.S.
“While our volunteers are our greatest asset, we are faced with a decreased availability of our volunteers too,” Scott said.
“Many of them now must seek secondary employment to make ends meet for their families, taking away time they used to dedicate to volunteering, covering on-call shifts, maintaining EMS trucks and equipment, attending mandatory state training hours, and then too, trying to maintain some semblance of a home life with their family.
“It is not easy being a volunteer, but for those who are passionate about helping others, it is just part of what volunteers do for others as they are able and time permits.”
Scott certainly has his work cut out for him, the agency stated, but he is committed to working with the Board and the agencies volunteers, to seek and discover solutions and overcome the unimagined challenges ahead.
The agency said Scott demonstrates a passion for helping others, clear experience in up-to-date EMS operations, and he exudes confidence, bringing plenty of fresh ideas to the table to confront the challenges ahead.
“I’m honored and humbled to be selected for this role and to help Firelands and its volunteers serve its community with excellence,” Scott said.
“It’s all about teamwork, and together, we can do great things, and help a lot of people along the way, and do our part to provide a peace of mind for the community and townships we serve.”
Chief Scott can be contacted for questions or further comment by emailing him and setting up an appointment at: chief@firelandsambulance.org.