UPDATE: News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke has learned that award letters have gone out and the state has promised the money is on the way to the Monroe-Livingston EMS council after a month long delay.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – EMS agencies across New York are waiting on state funding that was supposed to be renewed in June of 2024.  The money supports regional EMS councils that work with hospitals, health centers and doctors to improve medical care during emergencies.

State law requires regions have an established council and for decades, the state has provided funding to support them. “It’s been approved in the Governor’s budget and the legislature year after year, after year, after year,” says Dr. Jeremy Cushman, Medical Director of the Monroe-Livingston EMS Council.

But since June of 2024, the state hasn’t released any money to the program agencies that oversee the councils. 

The councils work as a glue of sorts for first responders, “it keeps everyone on the same page, it also involves the hospitals so the hospitals know what to expect when a crew is coming in, that we can have whatever we need to have readily available to continue the care of the patient,” says Dr. Michael Kamali, Chair of Emergency Medicine at URMC.

They also look for ways to better protect anyone who has to call 911. “That has been getting Narcan in the hands of EMTs and ultimately firefighters and police officers, it has been getting epinephrine in the hands of EMTs and allowing them to draw it up using a syringe so that frankly they can afford to have the epinephrine on their apparatus to be able to save the life of a 2-year-old that’s having an allergic reaction,” Dr. Cushman explains.

And during the COVID-19 pandemic, “we would get updates sometimes 2 or 3 times per day that would come through Dr. Cushman’s office giving us best practices on how to address patients with COVID as our understanding of that disease evolved,” explains Jonathan Smith, the Chair of the Monroe County EMS Chief’s Association. 

The Monroe-Livingston EMS Council uses some of that state funding provided annually to help cover the cost of two full-time employees and two part-time employees at UR Medicine who handle state requirements and reporting.  “We’ve kept doing the work because honestly, we have a moral and ethical obligation to continue to do that,” says Dr. Cushman.

“The University of Rochester and Rochester Regional catch basin area, that’s 1.3 million affected people here but it’s not just a regional issue this affects every New Yorker so, it seems pretty straightforward that we should be able to get a straight answer as to why our contracts can’t be executed,” says Smith. 

It also raises the question about whether the cash will ever come, “removing funding for the services and programs that are there really takes us multiple steps backwards, it really does… it creates a fragmented system where people aren’t in sync,” Dr. Kamali says.

News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke reached out to the NYS Department of Health.  In an email, a spokeswoman says “multiple contracts are nearing the final stages of the approval process with a status update expected soon.” She did not say how soon or what the hold-up has been.

Local emergency responders have also tried to enlist the help of state lawmakers to see if they can get an explanation for the delay or get the money moving.

We of course will keep you posted on any developments. 

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