Upper Valley Ambulance, Inc.

To the Citizens of the Communities we Proudly Serve:

We are pleased to present our annual report to the citizens we serve. Upper Valley Ambulance, Inc. has continually provided emergency and non-emergency ambulance service to our nine communities since July 1, 1990. Since then, Upper Valley has responded to over 22,000 ambulance calls.

This year has proven to be challenging from a business perspective. We have had a difficult time finding qualified employees in a tight labor market. Fuel costs have soared as well as the “expected” double digit increases in health insurance, workers compensation and liability insurance. Reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid and most other payors continues to lag well behind the actual cost of providing service. Despite this, we continue to provide a high level of service

We expect 2007 to be no different. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 which placed ambulances on a fixed fee schedule was implemented in 2002 and “adjustments” are ongoing. Insurance rates continue to climb, and the job market remains tight. UVA continues to practice conservative fiscal management. After countless hours of discussion and thought, the UVA Board of Directors has approved the 2007 budget reflecting no increase in our request of $15.00/ per capita.

The cornerstone of Upper Valley Ambulance is our personnel. We are proud to have paramedic level EMT’s staffing our ambulances. The clinical equipment is updated and hands-on training is ongoing. Further training will allow Critical Care Paramedics to transport critical patients with complex equipment between hospitals.

Many of you may not be familiar with our Subscription Service. The yearly membership fee of $40 entitles you to medically necessary emergency medical services at no additional cost to you. Applications are available at your local Town Offices, or at our business office on Lake Morey Road in Fairlee. We plan to further emphasize the Subscription Service in the coming year.

We encourage you to join your friends and neighbors who stop by to visit, or have their blood pressure checked at our Lake Morey Road facility. Please feel free to contact John Vose, Administrator or your Town Representative, if you have any questions concerning our service.

We are proud of our accomplishments and look forward to serving you in the future. The Board of Directors, Administration and Employees of Upper Valley Ambulance, Inc. will continually strive to provide the highest quality emergency medical care at the lowest possible cost to all the citizens we serve.
Sincerely,

Larry A. Lancaster, Chair
Board of Directors

This entry was posted on Friday, March 9th, 2007 at 12:58 pm and is filed under Town Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.