Mohegan VAC dispatch by 60 Control

[SteveOFD 176]

Agreement allows Mohegan's Ambulance Corps to cut costs

By THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: December 27, 2006)

MOHEGAN LAKE - The Mohegan Volunteer Ambulance Corps is expected to save more than $300 a month by tying into Westchester County's central-dispatching system in an agreement brokered through the county.

The Ambulance Corps had recently moved its dispatching to the county's central system, known as 60-Control, in Valhalla. However, ambulance corps officers thought that the cost of a phone line, known as a tie-in line, to the radio transmitter at their Route 6 headquarters was too high, according to a statement from Westchester County Supervisor Andrew J. Spano's office

Barry Brown, who serves on the corps' board of directors, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Officials from the county's departments of Emergency Services and Information Technology agreed to meet with members of the ambulance corps board to devise a less expensive solution, Spano said.

"The county was able to leverage an alternate, more reliable way to connect Mohegan to 60-control, resulting in a less expensive monthly rate," Spano said in the statement.

Spano said the county worked with Cablevision Lightpath to get a faster and more reliable connection at a lower cost. Officials are now exploring whether the Lake Mohegan Fire Department can generate similar savings by connecting to the same lines being used by the ambulance corps.

County Legislators Bill Burton, D-Ossining, and Mike Kaplowitz, D-Somers, helped initiate the agreement, Spano said.

In my opinion another agency takes a step in the right direction.

Edited December 31, 2006 by SteveOFD