What the loss of ALS authorization means for Greenport emergency care

The Greenport Fire Department Rescue Squad’s loss of authorization to provide advanced life support care has raised questions among North Fork residents about how emergency medical services work in the area.

Despite the troubling development, reported exclusively by The Suffolk Times on Friday, local ambulance crews will still respond to medical calls in Greenport. But advanced care — such as administering medications, starting IV lines or performing advanced airway procedures — will now be provided by paramedics from Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital.

Emergency medical calls are typically handled through a two-tier system. Local ambulance services staffed by emergency medical technicians respond first and provide Basic Life Support, which includes CPR, oxygen and the use of automated external defibrillators.

Paramedics trained to provide Advanced Life Support respond separately, often meeting the ambulance crew at the scene or while a patient is being transported to the hospital.

On The Suffolk Times’ Facebook page, some readers noted that Stony Brook paramedics already respond throughout the North Fork.

“This doesn’t mean we will have to wait to get to the hospital for help,” Kristen Rehm wrote. “It just tells you who is allowed to work on you when you call 911.”

It is not yet clear what steps the department must take to regain its ALS certification, or whether that could happen before the North Fork swells with visitors and second-home owners.

Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi has so far declined to comment. Fire Department Chief Albie de Kerillis did not respond to requests for additional comment on Monday.

An SBELIH spokesperson referred all questions to the fire chief.

The lack of transparency has fueled concern. 

“The state just doesn’t suspend without reason,” Jim Harrison wrote on The Suffolk Times’ Facebook page. “Everyone declining to comment is unacceptable.”

Rudolph Sunderman, the Suffolk County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Commissioner, previously said Stony Brook paramedics continue to provide ALS services in Greenport “24 hours a day, seven days a week,” and there will be no lapse in emergency coverage.

That’s a common practice across the county, with hospital-based paramedics or neighboring departments providing ALS coverage.

The state has not yet explained what led to last week’s decision to pull the Greenport rescue squad’s authorization.

The New York State Department of Health oversees emergency medical services across the state and can suspend or revoke ALS authorization if an agency fails to meet operational, administrative or medical oversight requirements.

The Suffolk Times reached out to state officials for more information about the decision.

Additional reporting by Brendan Carpenter.