Many people don’t give much thought about emergency services until they have to dial 911. As Americans, we’re fortunate to live in a country where emergency help (fire, police, EMS) is only a phone call away. We sleep easier at night because we know there are people dedicated to helping us; even under the worst conditions. When you dial 911, your call is routed to a county dispatcher who is responsible for quickly dispatching the closest and most appropriate personnel. Help is on the way within one or two minutes of your call. Many aspects of the 911 system are paid for through national, state and county funds. It is truly an amazing system.
What many people are not aware of is that even though our trucks say “Uwchlan” on the side of them, we are not owned or operated by any township. Uwchlan Ambulance Corps is a private nonprofit organization. Any public funds that we receive are through donations from the various communities we serve or county, state and federal grants. This represents a very small percentage of our overall operational costs. We receive no direct tax money.
So how does Uwchlan Ambulance raise money? Billing & donations are our two largest sources of income. About 12% of our funding comes from our annual membership drive. We send out mailings every year inviting residents to join our organization. If members use our services, we only collect insurance money. All additional expenses are written off. We’ve also entered into membership agreements with neighboring ambulance companies. If we treat a patient who is a member of a neighboring ambulance corps, we treat them as a member of our organization and only collect insurance money. They, in turn, do the same when they treat a member of our organization.
Most of our income (about 75%) is balance billing. Insurance companies often cover some of the costs of emergency medical care, but they rarely cover all the expenses. When we treat non-members, we bill their insurance companies first and then ask patients to pay the balance of costs not covered by insurance.
We also receive voluntary contributions from some of the surrounding townships. This amounts to about 5% of our income. The amount of money contributed by various townships has traditionally been proportional to the number of calls we cover in their area. Unfortunately, recent economic pressures have caused some townships to withhold or reduce their donations.
We also apply for grants every year, but grants are not a dependable method of raising money since there is no guarantee that we’ll receive a grant. We typically don’t expect to receive more than 0.5% of our funds from grants. Some ambulance companies receive income from the Fire Relief Fund. Traditionally Uwchlan Ambulance Corps has not applied for this money. There is a set amount to be distributed. Any moneys UAC would receive would be taken from one of our local fire companies. The remainder of our income comes from training classes we provide, investments and other contributions.
The next logical question is what does the ambulance company do with the money we earn each year? Uwchlan Ambulance is a non-profit organization, so all of the capital we raise goes back into the organization. We staff several ALS and BLS crews in different locations within our coverage area in order to provide 24×7 EMS service. Payroll (salary, benefits, insurance, etc.) accounts for about 57% of our operating costs. Operation and equipment costs are another large expenditure. It costs between $1,000 and $2,000 to properly outfit a single crewmember with all the required clothing, training, equipment and safety gear. Stretchers cost over $10,000 a piece and our portable EKG monitors cost over $20,000. Almost 17% of our budget is used to properly supply and train our staff. This includes vehicles, fuel, medical supplies, etc. Another 12% of our annual expenses go towards paying loan interest, legal fees, billing commissions, and our annual membership drive. Building and grounds maintenance and capital improvements consume a little more than 12%.
As astronomical as these numbers may seem, they would be even higher if it were not for the volunteers who help run the station on a daily basis. We have a very dedicated group of volunteers who help with all aspects of the organization. Some of them have been volunteering at UAC for decades. They personify the true meaning of community service. They work days, nights, weekends and holidays just to help make our community safer. In addition to saving the company significant amounts of money, they also allow us to provide additional services like first aid and CPR training, bike teams, EMS support for community & sporting events, and an emergency strike team that can be deployed in the event of a disaster. We’re very fortunate to have the depth of talent and dedication that we have.
In addition to paying for the day to day operations of the organization, we also use our income to prepare for future expenditures. We run the company in such a way that we do not need to borrow money to make purchases. This means maintaining fiscal discipline and putting aside money each month. Ambulances cost over $200,000 a piece and we maintain four of them. It takes several years to save enough money to purchase a new one. We also know that the health care business can be volatile and that there may be some years where our expenses will exceed our income. We’ve planned for that too by saving enough money to run the organization in the event of spikes in expenses or drastic reductions in billing collections. We’re also saving money in case we need to expand our services. Most of our call volume is in the southern end of our service area (Uwchlan and West Whiteland townships), but there’s the possibility that increased population in northern townships (e.g. Upper Uwchlan, West Vincent, etc.) will cause call volumes in those areas to increase and we need to be in a position to properly staff and equip ourselves to protect those families and businesses also.
Uwchlan Ambulance Corps strives for financial stability by establishing and following a budget, balancing present and future needs and being prepared to respond to changes in the economic climate. Above all it is our goal to provide the highest quality service to the sick and injured in the communities we serve.
If you have questions about Uwchlan Ambulance or would like to join, please call us at 610-363-1067 or visit our volunteer web page so you can begin the application process.