Spring Hill VAC
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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.
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 of 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.
Spring Hill is the busiest volunteer EMS agency in Rockland County. It is believed, but not verified, that Spring Hill is the third-busiest volunteer EMS agency in New York State, behind BRAVO Volunteer Ambulance of Bay Ridge, NY, and Union Volunteer Emergency Squad of Endwell, NY.
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 of 2007.
[edit] 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).
