Andy Close
WARREN, Pa. – The Warren County Commissioners passed a tri-county Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreement with Erie and Crawford County at Wednesday’s meeting, with one of the main goals to hire an ‘EMS Coordinator’ to help administer a collaborative EMS plan.
Erie County had previously approved the agreement in December.
“This person’s job will be to make sure that the gaps are filled,” said Warren County Director of EMA and Public Safety Ken McCorrison. “I think it’s a really good first step to getting everyone on the same page. I feel strongly that there needs to be somebody that needs to give direction.”
The agreement also calls for a regional collaborative EMS response plan. The agreement will chart which EMS agencies are available to answer calls.
“This is specific to the EMS plan itself,” McCorrison said. “There was no one overseeing it, no one holding people to the standard of the plan which is 24/7, 365 days a year coverage. I think this person will be busy.”
The idea was originally the idea of the Erie Council of Governments (COG), per McCorrison.
“They came up with the idea of shared resources,” he said.
McCorrison said whoever is hired to fill the position would also meet periodically to make sure everyone is on the same page and to make sure dropped calls are being prevented.
“I don’t think we’ll have any problems finding someone,” McCorrison said.
