Independently, West Enola Fire Company and Summerdale Fire Company had provided emergency medical services to the residents of East Pennsboro since 1954 and 1949 respectively.
In 1987, as the township population grew and the fire companies experienced a decline in volunteers, the two fire companies merged their ambulance services to form the corporation known as East Pennsboro Ambulance Service, Inc. (EPAS). The corporation was governed by a Board of Directors comprised of two representatives from each fire company and a representative from the township commissioners. Two ambulances were housed at each of their fire stations, providing optimal response coverage to the residents. The business office was located in the township’s municipal building. Volunteers from each of the fire companies and the now added paid staff would answer the needs of 5200 emergency/non-emergency ambulance calls per year.
The Summerdale Fire Company sold their share of the ambulance service to the West Enola Fire Company in 1999. Also in 1999, EPAS became more centrally based in their primary response jurisdiction by relocating their operations and business office to the township owned property at 750 South Humer Street in Enola.
In 2002, West Enola Fire Company sold the vehicles and the business to the ambulance service. EPAS now operates independently from the fire companies, with our Board of Directors being comprised of volunteer professionals from our community.
East Pennsboro Ambulance Service, Inc. has seen growth in many ways over the years. While there has been a decline in emergency and non-emergency ambulance services, mostly due to changes in health insurance regulations and reimbursement, the non-emergency wheelchair and invalid coach transportation services has exploded.
EPAS purchased their first wheelchair van in 1992. Due to a demand in non-emergency transportation, we now operate a fleet of four wheelchair/stretcher vehicles to provide cost effective non-emergency wheelchair and stretcher services. Wheelchair services were discontinued in October 2021 to focus on the emergency medical service needs of our communities.
A Quick Response Service(QRS) was added in April of 2005 to assist with stabilizing patients until transporting units can arrive during high call volume times.
2015 was a busy year for East Pennsboro Ambulance Service, Inc. On May 1, 2015, EPAS began operating as a Mobile Intensive Care Unit, in cooperation with Holy Spirit EMS. This MICU Collaboration brought Advanced Life Support Services closer to the center of the community. Each time a life threatening emergency is dispatched, one Emergency Medical Technician and one Paramedic will respond. This collaborative response is a cost savings to the community residents because only one bill will be processed to Medicare, so residents will not be in fear of paying for ALS Intercept Service which is a non-covered service through Medicare.
Also on May 1, 2015, East Pennsboro Ambulance Service, Inc. expanded emergency services coverage to Marysville Borough and a portion of Rye Township. These Perry County communities were previously serviced by Marysville Fire Company Ambulance Association, who discontinued coverage due to a significant decrease qualified volunteers. A fourth ambulance was added to our fleet of emergency vehicles to ensure we have sufficient units response ready and maintain a proper vehicle maintenance rotation.
