Webb secures funds for Rapid Medical Response program for county villages and towns

State Sen. Lea Webb, D-Binghamton, announced last week at a press event in Ithaca that she has secured $300,000 in state funding through the New York State Department of Health in the 2025 state budget to aid in covering the costs of the Tompkins County Rapid Medical Response (RMR) program.

The RMR program, which kicked off the first week of April, is meant to cut down on the time it takes emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to respond to critical health incidents such as heart attacks and strokes. Municipal officials, including village of Trumansburg Mayor Rordan Hart, have highlighted the need for the program.

The funding secured by Webb, part of the state budget negotiations that wrapped up at the end of April, will give the county an additional $300,000 to cover the costs of its pilot run, which will last for two years. The county has paid for the startup costs for the program. The program’s first-year costs amount to about $700,000, of which around $630,000 has been covered by state grants.

RMR currently operates three rapid medical response vehicles throughout the county, stationed in locations that were determined based on analysis of current response times for emergency calls. 

One unit mostly serves the Lansing area, another serves the town of Caroline and a third is stationed in either Enfield or Newfield. 

The county has also hired nine EMTs to support the program, Webb’s office said in a press release.

“I applaud Tompkins County for implementing an innovative solution to a problem facing many rural regions of our state, where EMS services are stretched thin and working tirelessly to respond to increased call volume over great distances,” Webb said in a press statement. “The Rapid Medical Response Program is already delivering on its promise to decrease wait times during medical emergencies and ensuring that residents and visitors to Tompkins County get assistance when they need it.”

In addition to helping directly in the municipalities where RMR operates, the program also provides backup for the towns of Groton, Dryden and Ulysses. Tompkins County Legislature Chair Daniel Klein, D-Towns of Danby, Caroline, and Ithaca, said in a release that these municipalities already invest in ambulance services.

“[RMR] frees up our private ambulance service so they can better respond to more critical calls and to calls that they can bill for services provided, and it helps our residents who expect that someone will show up quickly when they call 911,” Klein said.

For Mayor Hart, the funding will go a long way in improving the quality of EMS services in the county.

“The Tompkins County Rapid Medical Response program is a groundbreaking and innovative effort designed to supplement and support the existing EMS agencies in the county,” Hart said.

Since the program started April 2, RMR has already made a difference, said Michael Stitley, the county’s director of emergency response.

“We truly believe [the RMR] program can serve as a model for other counties to emulate,” he noted in a press release.

Ulysses Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

This year’s rubber duck race in downtown Trumansburg is set to take place May 11 along Frontenac Creek. The race begins at 1 p.m. and, given the leisurely water flow, usually ends about 1:45 p.m. The first three ducks across the finish line deliver a monetary prize to their lucky ticket holders.

Rotarian Frank Zgola said the event is popular with families and kids, who cluster at the bridges to see the ducks dropped into the water near the Farmers Market on West Main Street and, later, emerge from the creek at Gimme Coffee on East Main Street.

“Money raised this year will help fund the many programs at the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts,” Zgola said.

Zgola noted that the Rotary Club would like to thank Shur-Save owner Ravi Meel and the grocery store’s staff for lending space for the sale of tickets for the race.

“The event deliberately coincides with the village-wide yard sale, so there are two good reasons to be in Trumansburg that day,” Zgola noted. “Treasures await!”