Spring Hill VAC

Spring Hill Community Ambulance Corps, Inc. (SHCAC, SHVAC, Spring Hill CAC, or Spring Hill VAC) is a volunteer ambulance service in New Hempstead, New York. The agency provides primary EMS coverage for eastern Ramapo and portions of Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York.

Spring Hill has one volunteer on duty crew at night and on weekends but frequently will page out to volunteers for a second crew via radio and pager system. During the day they have two paid crews on duty. The first paid crew works from 5:00am to 7:00pm and the second from 7:00am to 7:00pm. If a third crew is needed the dispatcher will page the volunteers.

The agency is a BLS-level agency; its members are primarily certified at the EMT-Basic level. Only emergency responses via the local E-911 system are fulfilled; the agency does not commonly provide privately requested transports.

Currently, the agency operates five modular walk-through ambulances (KKK-1822 Type III; designators 441, 444, 445, 446, and 497) built on Ford chassis and manufactured by PL Custom of Manasquan, NJ. The agency also operates a first-response flycar - a Chevrolet Tahoe equipped by Goosetown Communications of Congers, NY (designator ESU-1).

Spring Hill commonly provides mutual aid to surrounding agencies, including Haverstraw Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Ramapo Valley Ambulance Corps, New City Volunteer Ambulance Corps/Rescue Squad and William P. Faist Volunteer Ambulance Corps, among others. Those agencies provide mutual aid response for Sping Hill in return.

In January 2005, Spring Hill completed construction and moved to a new headquarters directly behind their previous home. The facility, at approximately 17,000 square feet, is considered one of the largest of its kind in the area. The old station, a modified split-ranch residential construction which had been built by and used by Spring Hill volunteers for some thirty years, was demolished and converted to a parking lot for the new building. The new building includes four bedrooms from the overnight crew, a state of the art gym, split kosher and non-kosher kitchens, and training center.

The agency's operations are led by Captain Stephen Kaye. He has served as the chief operating officer since June, 1987. He is assisted by two First Lieutenants and three Second Lieutenants. The administration supervises approximately 125 actively serving volunteer members.

Spring Hill expects to celebrate its 40th anniversary in June 2007.

Trivia

* Spring Hill has provided primary EMS coverage to its service area since March 1967.
* Spring Hill's call volume runs between 4,500 and 5,000 calls annually.
* Spring Hill is a BLS-level agency. ALS is provided by Rockland Paramedic Services.
* Spring Hill was the first BLS agency in Rockland County to offer advanced BLS treatments such as albuterol sulfate and EpiPen to its patients.
* Spring Hill was the first agency in Rockland County to carry and use automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

Links

* [http://www.springhillems.org Spring Hill Community Ambulance Corps]
* [http://www.rocklandparamedics.org Rockland Paramedic Services]
* [http://www.plcustom.com PL Custom/Rescue 1 Emergency Vehicles]
* [http://www.goosetown.com Goosetown Communications]