PLAISTOW — A new ambulance drove into town yesterday.
As of noon yesterday, Trinity EMS officially replaced American Medical Response as the private ambulance service in Hampstead, Atkinson, Sandown, Danville, Newton and Plaistow, said Plaistow Deputy fire Chief Jon Lovett.
Company officials came to Atkinson yesterday to show off the ambulance that will be based at the Fire Department on Academy Avenue. When not responding to an emergency, the ambulance will be parked at the fire station full time, Lovett said.
Trinity EMS has headquarters in Haverhill and Lowell, Mass.
"We're excited to be in New Hampshire," company president John Chemaly said.
He said Trinity primarily operates locally, unlike AMR which is a "huge company" with nationwide presence. The decision to expand in New Hampshire was part of the company's strategic plan, he said.
"It does fit into our business plan to expand from the Nashoba Valley to Cape Ann," he said.
Trinity EMS offered to continue ambulance service in the six communities, without charging the local governments a stipend, Lovett said. The company will make its money by billing patients and/or their health insurance companies.
AMR used to rely on private billings, but in November notified the six towns it also needed a $200,000 stipend to continue the service, Lovett said.
"They weren't making enough," he said.
AMR spokesman Brendan McNiff said the company had been charging the consortium of six towns approximately $200,000 in annual subsidies up until 2006.
"Most certainly, we wanted to keep the contract," McNiff said yesterday. "We provided service to them for a number of years. The towns had always paid a subsidy. In 2006, we made a decision to release them from the subsidy, and that proved to be not in our financial interest."
McNiff said he went to the towns in October 2008 to ask then to reinstate the subsidy.
"In order for us to have a discussion, I had to cancel the contract. I offered to give them 180 days' notice and they offered to take 90 days," he said. "They did entertain proposals. We did submit a proposal."
Ultimately, McNiff said, AMR's proposal was not accepted.
"We enjoyed providing the service for upward of 20 years," he said. "It's hard to end a long-term relationship."
McNiff said AMR also felt financial pressures due to the sour economy.
"We're not unchallenged by that," he said.
Lovett said area fire chiefs reached a consensus with selectmen and town managers to go with Trinity EMS and not pay the stipend.
Hampstead Selectmen Chairman Richard Hartung said the area fire chiefs took the initiative on the ambulance contract.
"They kept us informed, and we supported what they were doing," Hartung said.
AMR and the chiefs made a presentation at a joint meeting of area selectmen, Hartung said. He said AMR wanted to change the contract, but the change would cost each town about $30,000.
"That's a sizeable piece of money," he said.
Plaistow Town Manager Sean Fitzgerald said he and other town officials, especially the fire chief and deputy fire chief, reviewed the private ambulance contracts carefully before approving the change to Trinity EMS. The goal, he said, was to make sure Trinity could maintain the level of service AMR had provided.
"We have every confidence Trinity is going to be able to step up," he said. "We have been assured Trinity will meet or exceed all standards in the contract with AMR."
AMR was 16 months into a five-year contract, but a clause allowed either party to terminate with 30 days' notice, Lovett said. The new contract with Trinity EMS does not have a termination clause. The contract expires Aug. 31, 2011.
Christopher Dick, Trinity's director of business development and marketing, said yesterday he is confident the New Hampshire expansion will be profitable. He said Trinity already is Haverhill's 911 ambulance service and has contracts with several area hospitals and nursing homes.
"We've been doing some backup calls as it is" in Southern New Hampshire, Dick said.
When the opportunity came to take over the AMR contract in six towns, Trinity saw the potential for business growth.
Dick said he researched the number of 911 calls in the six towns.
"We talked to all the chiefs," he said. "We feel the number of calls would be enough. "Dick said Trinity also has satellite bases in Chelmsford and Lawrence, Mass., and has been expanding into Haverhill, Amesbury and Newburyport.
The company was founded in 1991, he said.
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