By By JESSICA SIEFF / Niles Daily Star
NILES – On a Tuesday afternoon, the garage behind Southwestern Michigan Community Ambulance Service (SMCAS) Executive Director Timothy L. Gray's office is empty. All of his trucks are out responding to calls. Aside from an older model ambulance, all that sits idle in the garage is Gray's SUV.
Gray's office is appropriate – and expected -for a new director. It's full. Full of printed out emails, forms, books, files and scattered boxes. The initial impression might be that Gray is just like any other transitioning member of upper management. Stressed for time, busy taking in the entirety of the position, learning new ropes. Gray, however, is no newbie.
"I started here in 1984," he says. "I was 17 years old and straight out of high school." He decreased his position with the organization to part-time in 1989 when he decided to move toward the direction of police work. But he returned, full time, in 1999. "Every director that's been here," Gray said. "I've been under."
With so many years as a part of SMCAS under his belt, Gray seems to have an understanding of what is going to take to keep SMCAS running effectively, so it can just as effectively serve the people.
Support for SMCAS was discussed among the Niles Township board during their meeting Monday night when a resolution to approve assessment for SMCAS was brought to the table for vote. The resolution calls for $20 per occupied parcel for eight years. The costs per occupied parcel normally fluctuate. With the economy in its current state, the goal of the resolution is to lock in a set amount now. The idea being that at it will ensure the amount won't go over $20.
It's not quite that simple, however. Niles Township board member Kevin Tonkin said that SMCAS could go back to the board to raise the amount during those eight years if economically speaking – things got bad enough. Gray said the same thing, "unless we were in dire straits." That makes the reasoning of the plan being to lock in a set amount – hard to swallow for some. The vote was not an easy one, with members of the board questioning why the resolution was calling for an eight-year plan instead of what has normally been a four-year plan.
The resolution passed in Niles Township – by a vote of 4:3. In order for the resolution to become a reality – it must pass six total municipalities including the cities of Niles and Buchanan and the Townships of Bertrand, Buchanan, Niles and Howard Township in Cass County.
While this resolution will provide a relatively standard flow of resources SMCAS can count on over the next eight years –Gray offers insight to those wondering just where those resources go.
"I think what [people] don't see and understand are the training requirements," Gray said. Training for all 16 full time employees: 11 paramedics, four specialists and on basic Emergency Medical Technician is ongoing.
"It's almost getting to the point that you're spending a lot more time and resources on training," Gray said. All of his crew must comply with Federal and State requirements on training.
"Keeping up on the training, is probably one of the biggest challenges," Gray said. In addition to the money spent on such training as advanced cardiac life support, CPR, Hazmat and respiratory – that is required each year – there area other elements that are pulling money away from SMCAS. Medicare, Medicaid, reimbursements, insurance and people who simply can't afford to pay for services causes SMCAS's belt to feel even tighter.
"We are basically fortunate that we have this special assessment district," Gray said. But the simple fact of a suffering economy and extensive training requirements might not be enough for all six municipalities to find extending the assessment worth it.
As he discusses the organization's financial woes, Gray seems more matter of fact. "We're doing what we can to try to trim," he said. He adds that SMCAS is "trying to be as fiscally responsible as we can be."
Ultimately, what SMCAS comes down to is the people. "The biggest thing is working with the public," Gray said. A Buchanan native, Gray has a lot of respect for the area. Referring to the people of Niles, Gray said, "it amazes me how kind they've been, how supportive they've been." But – he said that sometimes it could be a rather thankless job. "People don't really respect us until they need us," he said, noting that Emergency Medical Services is the youngest of the major public service entities. Police and Fire Departments have been around forever – but EMS seems to still be finding its way.
Gray said he'd like to "try to build a little bit more of the public education."
Still, Gray said, "I don't think people in the profession go out wanting a pat on the back. Somebody is alive today because of something we did right."