Volunteer agencies may be linked to a volunteer fire service, and some volunteers provide both services. Some ambulance charities specialize in covering public gatherings and events; others provide care to the wider community.
Internationally, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest charity providing emergency medicine, alongside organisations such as St John Ambulance, the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps and Hatzalah. In the United States volunteer ambulances are rarer, but are still found in both metropolitan and rural areas.
In New York City there are EMS members across more than 42 volunteer agencies — particularly the large eleven-division Chevra Hatzalah organization serving the Orthodox Jewish community, as well as well-known community groups including Park Slope VAC, Bedford Stuyvesant VAC, Ridgewood VAC, BRAVO and Flatlands Volunteers.
Our position
EMSPAC's platform calls for auditing, merging and consolidating volunteer corps systems, with $2,500 annual tax credits and scholarship opportunities for EMTs and paramedics active with a viable corps. Agencies with documented ongoing service would receive a fixed subsidy to sustain operations; those unable to meet 24/7 coverage would be merged or closed.
Organize where you work.
EMSPAC is all-active-duty and all-volunteer. Joining is what lets us respond to hardships, push advocacy, and build a national organization around our demands.