ITHACA, N.Y. (WHCU) – Tompkins County’s EMS Rapid Medical Response Pilot Program is getting a major unexpected boost.
The county has been awarded a Local Government Efficiency Grant from New York State to help support the cost of the $699,000 program. County Administrator Lisa Holmes says the funding, which will be used to strategically place EMTs in poor coverage areas throughout Tompkins County, came with a happy surprise.
It’s welcome news for the county and its municipalities, some of whom have balked at the proposed cost-sharing of the 2-year pilot program. Holmes adds the increase in funding was the result of a clerical error made by New York State.
Tompkins County could still receive more funding for the program later this year through New York’s Shared Services Initiative. Officials are hopeful the pilot program will launch in March.
