West County Paramedic Association
2024-2025 Membership Drive
Dear West County Resident,
Please join us by becoming members of the West County Paramedic Association (WCPA) for the 2024-2025
membership year. Your membership is critical to our ability to continue to provide life-saving emergency medical
services (EMS) to the residents of western Erie County. WCPA was formed as a non-profit organization in 1979 to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) services when a higher level of medical care is needed to assist the volunteer fire departments that provide Basic Life Support
(BLS). ALS care is needed on over 50% of all 9-1-1 emergency medical calls.
In January of 2024, WCPA was re-organized to ensure its long-term sustainability. Representatives from the Boroughs of Girard, Lake City, Albion and Platea and the Townships of Elk Creek, Fairview, Girard, and Springfield became members of the WCPA Board of Directors. These municipalities made a financial commitment to support WCPA to ensure that these vital services would continue for our residents.
Currently, WCPA is the only ALS provider located in the West County region. It staffs atl east two ambulances 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. WCPA is the primary EMS provider for Platea and Springfield Township and provides primary ALS and backup BLS services to the remainder of the volunteer departments in Western Erie County.
To fully fund WCPA’s operations, we rely on insurance company reimbursement, patient billing, municipal subsidy, and members like you. Unfortunately, insurance reimbursements cover less than half of the cost of running each call, which leaves our organization in an operational deficit. To help support this operational deficit, some municipalities enacted an EMS tax to assure that when you need an ambulance, one will be there for you.
These taxes help support vital services provided by the local volunteer fire departments and WCPA but do not
cover the shortfall in the annual operating costs of these life-saving non-profit organizations. Therefore, local volunteer fire
departments and WCPA must continue to rely on community support through annual fund drives, fundraisers, and
membership campaigns. WCPA is committed to keeping membership fees as low as possible, and the cost for 2025 will remain the same as last year.
Membership Options and Benefits:
- The Household membership covers all residents living at your address
- It grants a 50% discount for any emergency transport provided by the West County Paramedic Association, whether you are insured or not.
- This discount applies to copays, deductibles, cost shares, etc., and there is no limit on the number of transports during the membership year.
$50.00 Individual
$75.00 Household
Please be advised that memberships will not waive patient refusal charges and other surcharges.
West County Paramedic Association offers Non-emergency stretcher transports as an additional service to you. Please call our office or check our website for rates on these services.
Non-emergency services are NOT covered under your membership.
West County Paramedic Association Board of Directors:
- Mark Gennuso - Fairview Township
- Jeff Eaton - SpringfieldTownship
- Doug Wright - Girard Borough
- Lindy Platz - Girard Township
- Tom Eberle - Lake City Borough
- Stan Freeland - Platea Borough
- Robert Soltis - Elk Creek Township
