Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Annual Subscription Drive in Progress

 It’s that time of year again for Delaware Township residents. Delaware Township Volunteer Ambulance Corp (DTVAC) needs your help! By contributing to our annual subscription drive, you will help offset our operating costs for another year. Subscription donations are used to purchase emergency equipment, medical supplies, medications and to provide training to our volunteers. 
    Our personnel continue to fight on the front line of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our agency continues to transport and treat COVID-19 patients and coordinate with other agencies to ensure the well-being of the public. However, the pandemic has taken a serious financial toll on our organization. The cost of medical supplies and personnel continues to rise and for two years now, we have had to cancel all of our large in-person fundraisers. We need your help!
    Although we are a primarily volunteer organization, we must bill for our services. An ambulance trip to the hospital can cost more than $2,000. Most insurance providers, including Medicare, do not cover the entire portion of the ambulance bill. You can help both yourself and our organization by participating in our subscription drive. As a subscription member, you will not be billed for balances owed on services that are partly covered by your insurance carrier including insurance copays and deductibles, except for deductibles as mandated by Federal Law. On non-covered services such as non-emergency transports, and patient assessments (patient is not transported) you will receive a 50% discounted rate. 2021-2022 Subscription plans are valid from the date of payment received through December 31, 2022. There is no “proration” for those who wait to subscribe, so the sooner you sign up, the greater the benefit. Review the full subscription letter for subscription membership details. Subscription membership fees are only $35 for an individual, $55 for a couple, or $80 for a household (up to eight persons).
    Subscription Drive letters have already been mailed, however, they are only mailed to property owners (on file with the Pike County Tax Claim Bureau). Renters/others will need to obtain a subscription form in one of the following ways: To download a copy of our subscription drive form visit http://www.dtvac.org/subscription-program.html. You can also request a physical copy of the form by calling us at (570) 828-2345 or emailing info@dtvac.org. Physical copies of the subscription form are available in the vestibule of the Delaware Township Municipal Building, 116 Wilson Hill Road, Dingmans Ferry, PA. The Township Building is open Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.
    Your contribution is more important than ever, as the cost of medical supplies, personnel, and training continues to increase. DTVAC does not receive any direct tax money from local, state, or federal sources. DTVAC is a non-profit organization, established in 1975, that subsists primarily on voluntary contributions and billing income to provide such superb service to our community. DTVAC is dedicated to providing basic and advanced life support ambulance services to the residents and visitors of Delaware Township, Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania. In addition, DTVAC provides advanced life support (ALS), the highest ground-based 911 ambulance service available, and mutual aid basic life support services to surrounding municipalities. 



    DTVAC is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services as an Advanced Life Support Ambulance Service, the highest ground-based 911 ambulance service available. DTVAC has been accredited by the Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council’s Emergency Medical Services for Children Program at the Expert Level, which means that DTVAC has additional pediatric-specific medical equipment on its ambulances, requires EMS providers to complete ChildLine child abuse background clearances, requires EMS providers complete four hours of pediatric-specific continuing education per year, and is actively involved in multiple community outreach programs. DTVAC is the only ambulance service in Pike County with this accreditation. Delaware Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps. does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sexuality, age, sex, disability, or gender identification. For more information about the subscription program or DTVAC call (570) 828-2345 or email info@dtvac.org. 



Wednesday, November 10, 2021

DTVAC Purchases New Cardiac Monitor

Delaware Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps (DTVAC) is proud to announce it has received and placed into service an additional cardiac monitor. The new device, manufactured by Physio-Control, matches the first device purchased by the Corps over five years ago. Membership approved the purchase at their July Membership Meeting after the Pennsylvania Department of Health updated their protocols to allow EMTs to obtain a 12-lead electrocardiogram and transmit it to a hospital for interpretation. Previously only paramedics were able to obtain electrocardiograms. The new device will be instrumental in determining if a patient is suffering from a heart attack, allowing DTVAC EMTs to transport the patient to the correct hospital. The physician who interprets the EKG can then alert a specialized cardiac team before the patient even gets to the hospital, ensuring they are waiting for the patient upon the ambulance’s arrival at the hospital. Cardiac team members may be “on-call” and may need to be paged from home and then respond to the hospital in the middle of the night, so this technology definitely cuts down on the time it takes to administer the proper care to the patient. DTVAC is one of only two ambulance services in Pike County with a program for EMTs to obtain 12-lead electrocardiograms. This additional monitor will also help DTVAC increase its advanced life support (paramedic) services next year, as the monitor can be shared and is the most costly piece of medical equipment that paramedics use. The monitor with accessories, data plan, and maintenance plan cost over $40,000.00 and was purchased through donations to the Corps. If you would like to donate to the Corps or to volunteer your time to the Corps call (570) 828-2345 or email info@dtvac.org