Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance announced today that it has received and placed into service its newest ambulance in the fleet – a 2024 Crestline. The ambulance replaces the oldest ambulance, a 2016 Road Rescue with nearly 150,000 miles on it.
The purchase of the ambulance was largely made possible thanks to a generous gift by Jamison Schriber, a Partner at Goldman Sachs. While PVA’s ambulances are scheduled for replacement every seven years, the funding of each ambulance purchase remains very dynamic. As more and more insurance carriers constrain reimbursement for service and as the cost of doing business increases, budgeting for the purchase of a new ambulance is increasingly difficult. PVA maintains a fleet of three ambulances and three first-response vehicles, which means that we must raise or save over $75,000 each year in order to maintain our replacement schedule. Unlike other essential public safety entities, these fleet replacements are not fully funded. As an independent not-for-profit ambulance service provider, those dollars must come directly from operating revenues generated through insurance reimbursements, and our generous philanthropists.
Purchasing ambulances has additionally become difficult due to demand for new ambulances far exceeding the availability of materials and new vehicle chassis from suppliers such as Ford and Chevrolet. This ambulance, ordered in September of 2022, wasn’t available until 5 months after the anticipated delivery date. Based on the current projected timeline offered by ambulance suppliers, the next replacement ambulance, if ordered now, would likely arrive in 18 months.
