Town shifts ambulance contract from LVAC to Mercy Flight

ALDEN. The Town of Alden is switching its contracted ambulance provider from Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Mercy Flight, after a contract lapse and negotiations failed leaving residents and fire chiefs concerned over potential lapses Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance service.

In a Sept. 15 statement on its Facebook page, LVAC said the town had decided to sign with a new emergency medical services provider and that LVAC's Alden contract would expire at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 16. LVAC said it had negotiated with the town for nine months and cautioned that mutual aid from farther away might not match the coverage Alden had under its longtime contract. LVAC has served Alden since 2016. Bernard Jerozal IV, LVAC's chief of operations, later told The Buffalo News the nonprofit answers 780 to 800 calls a year in the town and cannot keep covering Alden without a paid contract because insurance reimbursements often fall short of a 911 call's cost.

At the Sept. 21 Town Board meeting, board members said they were voting that night on a temporary extension with LVAC from that day through Nov. 30, 2026. Beginning Dec. 1, Mercy Ambulance Service, also known as Mercy Flight, is set to become the town and village provider, according to the board discussion and a Sept. 18 message to residents from Supervisor Colleen Pautler. Under the plan described at the meeting, Mercy would station a dedicated ambulance in Alden around the clock, with a paramedic and an EMT based at the highway department.

Board members said they reviewed proposals from LVAC and other agencies and chose the arrangement they believed gave residents the highest level of service, including a dedicated local ambulance. Fire chiefs wanted clearer notice and answers to questions regarding

mutual aid for multi-ambulance calls. A meeting with the chiefs of the Alden, Town Line, Crittenden, and Millgrove fire departments was set for the following night, September, 22nd.

Scott Wooten, Mercy Flight's executive vice president and an Alden resident since 2008, told the board his company intends to keep service at least as strong as residents have known, and apologized for how quickly the news landed during confidential negotiations.

The Mercy contract is under legal review by the Town of Alden. LVAC's Sept. 15 statement had referred to a Jan. 1, 2027 start for the new provider; the town's current public timeline is Dec. 1, 2026.

For now, LVAC remains on duty under the temporary extension through Nov. 30. Town and village officials say Mercy Flight is scheduled to take over Dec. 1 once the contract clears that legal review.