Glen Cove EMS New Hires Increase Coverage

The team will have a paramedic on duty 24 hours per day, seven days per week beginning July 9 with three new hires introduced at the city council meeting Tuesday night.

"The hires weren't made earlier in the year or last year to save money. It's the right time now," said Mayor Ralph Suozzi. "It's the right thing to do."

Timothy Dionian, John McDermott and Jennifer Ruggiero were hired after a thorough search and interview process, Suozzi said at the meeting.

The additions "maximize our coverage at an advanced level," according to Glen Cove EMS's Christopher DeMetropolis, who was honored at the meeting for performing "above and beyond" his responsibilities in helping to save a woman's life during a severe respiratory distress call on May 10.

While Glen Cove EMS is currently a 24/7 service, it has employed only one full-time advanced emergency medical technician. The hires mean that one advanced EMT will be on duty around the clock to "help fill in the gaps when volunteer members cannot respond," said EMS chief Matthew Venturino in a statement.  

The company, which includes four ambulances and 64 volunteers, answers more than 2,400 calls per year - more than three times the amount the receives annually.