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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins rested, re-focused after day off

Old name is new again for Pepperjam

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Mayor Tony George said he will go ahead with his previously announced plan to use Trans-Med Ambulance Inc. as the primary backup service in the city.</p><p>&#8220;Change creates fear in people. However, without change there is no progress,&#8221; he said in a memo released Wednesday afternoon. &#8220;There is no question that the city has a good mutual aid program with our neighboring communities, but that shouldn&#8217;t stop us from having a better program.&#8221;</p><p>His plan assigns Forty Fort-based Trans-Med citywide coverage of emergency calls when Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s ambulances are unavailable, effective April 15.</p><p>His switch met with opposition from city council Monday night that passed a non-binding resolution calling for maintaining the nearly five-year-old regional mutual aid agreement. Hanover Township, Kingston, Plains Township and Trans-Med participated in the agreement that designated their coverage areas in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Under the mayor&#8217;s new plan, the other ambulances will provide backup to Trans-Med, which has committed to stationing two ambulances in the city, essentially doubling the number of vehicles on call.</p><p>&#8220;The new agreement will ensure that Wilkes-Barre has definite backup without the fear of Hanover, Kingston and Plains failing to respond because of prioritizing their own areas and residents,&#8221; George said.</p><p>The mayor added that negotiations are underway to have second-year medical students from The Commonwealth Medical College and resident doctors from the Wright Residency Center ride with Trans-Med ambulances for educational purposes.</p><p>&#8220;This plan is not permanent at this time, rather it is on a trial basis,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I will continue to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the plan. The safety and the well being of the residents of Wilkes-Barre is my (number one) priority. I intend to provide the best emergency response services to the citizens.&#8221;</p><p>The billing procedure will stay the same, George said. The transporting ambulance company will bill for the service. Trans-Med is the lowest-cost provider, he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">George </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_George_Tony.jpg</photo0><caption0>George </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mayor George says he’ll go ahead with change in Wilkes-Barre’s backup ambulance providers