Hempfield supervisors remove Jeannette EMS from service; area to be covered by Mutual Aid

Jeannette EMS will no longer cover parts of Hempfield after township supervisors chose to stop using the ambulance service.

The area covered by Jeannette EMS, which includes parts of North Hempfield, High Park and Grapeville, now will be serviced by Greensburg-based Mutual Aid Ambulance Service. Mutual Aid already services parts of the township, along with Rescue 14, which is based out of Adamsburg.

Supervisors voted unanimously this week to move forward with removing Jeannette EMS from its coverage area. Supervisor Rob Ritson was absent from the meeting.

Township Manager Jason Winters attributed the vote to officials “looking at the EMS provider as a whole for the township.”

Randy Highlands, operations manager with Jeannette EMS, said calls to Hempfield account for less than 5% of the company’s budget. He declined any further comment.

In a statement, Lorenzo Garino, director of emergency services with Mutual Aid, said, “Mutual Aid EMS has steady communication with Hempfield Township in regards to ensuring that the public safety needs of it’s residents are met. We are committed to providing the highest-caliber emergency medical services and continue to be prepared for any scenario in which we are requested to assist.”

Supervisors have discussed removing Jeannette EMS from their service since December. At that time, supervisors directed staff to meet with Highlands to discuss the potential vote.

“I want to make sure we seriously make sure we’re not making a rash decision,” Ritson said at the December meeting.

At this time, there is no specific timeline for when the changes will go into effect.

“We will give them a time period where we take them off as the primary responder,” Winters said. “It will go into effect over the next couple of months.”