Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps Looks To Expand Its Reach

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — The Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps is looking to expand into Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens — and it isn't the only group vying for that territory.

In its application, the nonprofit's executive board said the expansion would fill a void created after the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Corps lost its operating certificate.

But the corps is not the only one with that idea: The Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps is also attempting to expand into Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens by merging with the now-defunct corps that once served the neighborhoods.

Both groups first need to gain the approval of the New York City Regional Emergency Medical Services Council and authorization from the New York State Department of Health.

"We have proudly served the communities of Forest Hills and Rego Park for decades and we would now be honored to include your neighborhood in our area of service," the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps wrote in an email soliciting support for its application. "With each passing year we build and grow as a family through the bond between the communities we serve and our members."

The Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which dates back to 1971, provides Forest Hills and Rego Park with such services as emergency medical transportation, in partnership with the FDNY's 911 system; classes and demonstrations on CPR and first aid; and non-emergency medical transportation to hospitals and clinics.

The corps has 85 staffers, including 54 EMTs and two paramedics, and operates a fleet of two ambulances and four other emergency service vehicles on a yearly operating budget of $110,000 to $125,000, according to its application.

If the corps is allowed to expand, it would add two ambulances to its fleet, funded by $450,000 in available grant money and anticipated additional revenue from increased call volume.

The corps expects the expansion to cause calls to increase by as much as 50 percent; in 2019, it responded to 440 calls.

The corps is proposing an expansion into the ZIP codes 11415, 11421 and 11418, going as far west as Eldert Lane and as far east as the Van Wyck Expressway.

The Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps' proposed expansion overlaps significantly with the area where the Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps is trying to expand, according to the group's applications.

And both corps tout the support of elected officials, including City Council Members Bob Holden and Karen Koslowitz, in their quests to expand.

The simultaneous expansion efforts come as volunteer ambulance crews in other parts of the city are struggling to stay afloat in the face of dropping volunteer numbers and decreases in fundraising revenue.

Meanwhile, ambulance response times spiked thanks to record numbers of EMS calls during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Regional Emergency Medical Services Council, which goes by the acronym REMSCO, will host hearings on the dueling applications within days of each other next month: Ridgewood on March 2, then Forest Hills on March 4.

Information on how to attend the public hearings is available here.