Fund Drive

Dear Valued Residents,

Northern Berkshire EMS (NBEMS) and Northern Berkshire Transport (NBT) provide the highest quality pre-hospital emergency medical care and transportation services to Northern Berkshire and Southern Vermont.

We have been very busy this past year! Our call volume continues to rise with a decrease in workforce, which has been a significant challenge to the healthcare and ambulance industry. Last year our Ambulance Division responded to 8,229 calls for assistance and our Chairvan Division logged 18,523 calls!

The constantly changing healthcare landscape, coupled with decreased insurance reimbursements, continues to challenge our industry nationally. In fact, many ambulance and non-emergency transport companies have been forced to close because of these factors. It is difficult to imagine the impact to our communities if NBEMS and NBT were not available. We pride ourselves on running a fiscally sound service. Inflation has driven the cost of medical supplies and operations over the past year. However, in order to offer the most up to date service, we must continue to make operational changes that are costly but necessary to meet the needs of the community. In order to remain competitive in the industry and keep our staffing at an acceptable level, we continue to offer competitive salaries and a robust benefits package. NBEMS does not receive subsidies from any of the communities it serves nor does it receive any state or federal subsidy. Our income comes solely from insurance reimbursement and the generosity of our community from our annual fund drive. You support is important to offset our significant operational costs not covered by those insurance reimbursements.

In an effort to reduce fleet maintenance costs and keep our fleet maintained and provide storage and parking we recently purchased the old Don's Service Center at 394 River Street in North Adams, across from our headquarters, and employed a trained mechanic. This allows us to provide in-house maintenance to our fleet of over 30 vehicles, resulting in a significant cost savings!

Because of the past generosity of our donors, we were able to update our aging fleet, replace our aging training equipment, and provide educational opportunities to our employees. This year the goal is to continue to update our aging fleet of ambulances and chairvans. Your support is crucial in helping us meet this goal! The cost of and ambulance is approximately $200,000, and the cost of a chairvan is $88,000!

State of the art services provided by dedicated, skilled professionals, are essential for the well-being of our communities and NBEMS/NBT is proud to provide those services. It is difficult to imagine the health consequences to the region if NBEMS/NBT was not available. In order to maintain the level of service that you have come to expect, the financial support of our communities has become increasingly essential. Every donation, no matter how large or small, is important. Those who contribute $50.00 or more will be recognized as a Star of Life donor, the symbol that represents Emergency Medical Services.

Your donation is tax deductible!

We are deeply grateful for your generosity.
Sincerely yours,
Paul Ethier, President
Board of Directors

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Alternatively, contact us using the link at the top right of the website or simply mail your donation to us at: