Jeannette considers proposal from Mutual Aid for ambulance service

In the wake of Jeannette EMS’ closure last week, city officials are considering a proposal from Mutual Aid to provide ambulance service in the city.

Council likely will vote on the matter during its Thursday meeting, as long as Solicitor Tim Witt gives the OK.

“Solicitor Witt has to have time to look over this agreement and to advise us on the legality of everything involved,” Mayor Curtis Antoniak said during a work session Tuesday.

Jeannette EMS closed abruptly July 3, sending council members scrambling to get an interim plan in place. Mutual Aid and Penn Township Ambulance are responding to calls in Jeannette until council designates a service.

Jeannette EMS ran ambulances for 63 years before it closed. Director of Operations Randy Highlands pointed to insufficient funding as a reason for the closure.

Chief Fiscal Officer and City Clerk Ethan Keedy said the Mutual Aid service would run until the end of December. The city would pay Mutual Aid $1,000 per month, continuing the same financial support it had for Jeannette EMS, he said.

If council approves the proposal, members will have to decide how to move forward after the agreement expires. Municipal government officials select ambulance providers to cover their towns to provide an orderly structure for ambulance calls.

“I think, right now, the city’s trying to weigh all of the options,” Keedy said.

In the interim, calls in Jeannette will be split by Greensburg-based Mutual Aid and Penn Township Ambulance.

“The main goal for the city is to make sure anyone calling 911 has an ambulance at their door,” Keedy said.

If council approves the agreement, Jeannette would become the only municipality providing direct financial support to Mutual Aid, which covers 27 municipalities in Westmoreland County and five others in Fayette County.