By Lisa Naradzay, New Leader Staff Writer

Spencer – Which amount is more affordable - $25 or a couple of hundred dollars? For many, the answer is simple.

Then why is it that only an approximate 1,500 residents take advantage of the option to pay this much less in ambulance and emergency services? “Because they don’t know about us,” explained Gary Suter, executive director of the Spencer Rescue and Emergency Squad.

The nonprofit, private emergency squad has been providing “pre-hospital, emergency medical service” to Spencer residents since 1959. Every year, the squad holds a subscription drive to encourage residents to send a minimum $25 contribution in return for a year’s worth of the squad’s emergency services without any further out-of-pocket expense.

“Every year we mail out subscription requests to every resident. If they subscribe and pay the minimum fee, if they end up having to use our services and go to the hospital, we waive any and all out-of-pocket expenses after what their insurance covers,” Suter explained.

Most insurance companies are continuously covering less of the expenses associated with pre-hospital care and ambulance services, Suter pointed out. “Some trips can cost $100 or $200 and others can cost $1,100. When an insurance company only agrees to pay about $800 of that cost, then the family is stuck with the rest. This is what we would waive if they were a subscriber. And, if you subscribe and you don’t have insurance at all, we waive the cost entirely,” Suter said.

Unlike other towns that help pay annual operating expenses toward ambulance services, the Spencer Rescue and Emergency Squad does not rely on any tax revenue or town contribution toward expenses because it is a private entity, which makes the subscription drive even that more important. “Other than billing insurance [for the patients transported], we rely on the subscription drive to help supplement our shortfall,” Suter said.

But being a private entity has some major pros, too. While many towns scramble for funds to pay for emergency medical services, such as emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, equipment and emergency vehicles, the Spencer Rescue and Emergency Squad maintains control of how income will be spent. In short, this entity is not pitted against the many town departments battling for limited revenue.

The squad currently employs four full-time paramedics, three full-time EMT basics, one part-time paramedic, one part-time EMT intermediate, and 20 part-time EMT paramedics. Headquarters on Bixby Road are staffed with one paramedic and one EMT from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. seven days a week. The squad operates at an Advanced Life Support level and has two fully equipped ambulances.

“We are much better equipped to handle an instance such as a heart attack than just your basic level services,” said Suter.

By subscribing, any donation, whether the minimum or more, helps the Rescue and Emergency Squad continue to operate at this advanced level of services – and for the good of all residents. Also, the squad reaches out to the community by offering various training classes such as childcare instruction for baby-sitters, CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) certification and EMT classes.

The next scheduled class will be a six-hour instruction and certification for CPR on Saturday, June 25. For a nominal fee, all participants will leave with authentic certification from the American Heart Association.

“We will continue to offer re-certification classes, too, which are much shorter,” Suter noted.

For more information or to register, call the Spencer Rescue and Emergency Squad headquarters at (508) 885-4476. The same number may be called for more information about subscribing for emergency and medical services.

General information about the squad and additional upcoming classes can be found online at www.spencerrescue.org.