SUE SERINO URGES FEDERAL ACTION TO STABILIZE EMS
Letters sent to U.S. Transportation Secretary and New York Congressional Delegation call for renewed federal EMS funding

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – With EMS calls in Dutchess County topping 21,500 in the first half of 2025, Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino is calling on Washington to take action to address the challenges facing EMS nationally. This week, County Executive Serino sent formal letters to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and New York’s Congressional Delegation urging renewed federal investment in EMS, citing call volumes and mounting strain on local emergency services.

EMS has faced similar turning points before. In 1966, the federal government stepped in through the National Highway Safety Act, empowering the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration to set national training standards, build trauma systems, and provide oversight that transformed emergency response nationwide. Serino is calling for that same type of leadership today.

“When you call 911, you’re not thinking about budgets – you're thinking about your loved one,” said Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino. “Our EMTs and paramedics are extraordinary, but the system supporting them is stretched thin. Dutchess County is doing its part to invest in coverage, but we need federal leadership again to ensure every community has access to timely, life-saving care.”

Year-to-date in Dutchess County, the primary EMS agencies across Dutchess County had a 69% arrival-on-scene response time of 9 minutes or less for Priority 1 calls. Eight percent of Priority 1 calls took 15 minutes or more. Primary agencies were unable to respond to nearly 10% of calls, requiring mutual aid or response from Dutchess County’s supplemental EMS Basic or Advanced Life Support (BLS and ALS) service to ensure patient care was provided. Dutchess County’s $1.47 million investment in supplemental EMS coverage is helping to support the primary agencies and provide residents the assurance that every call will be answered, but national focus on the challenges of EMS and committed federal funding is needed to ensure these EMS agencies have the staffing and resources needed to improve response times and eliminate “inability to respond" instances.

Dutchess County Emergency Response Commissioner William Beale said, “The data is clear: demand is rising, and the workforce is stretched thin.  Targeted federal support would help stabilize operations – funding the workforce, replacing aging equipment, and strengthening the communications and dispatch technology that help ensure fast response times.”

Serino’s letters request that Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation work together to reestablish a dedicated federal EMS funding stream focused on:

• Workforce Development – Support recruitment, training, and retention programs for EMTs and paramedics, including tuition assistance and stipends.
• System Sustainability – Provide multi-year operational grants to stabilize coverage, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
• Innovation and Integration – Support regional coordination, data-sharing, and integration of EMS into broader public health and emergency management systems.
• Equipment Modernization – Fund replacement of aging ambulances, lifesaving medical devices, and technology upgrades for communication and dispatch.

Read the letters sent to Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Representative Pat Ryan, and Representative Mike Lawler.

Read the letter sent to U.S. Secretary Sean Duffy.

To learn more about the critical importance of EMS, visit www.dutchessny.gov/EMSMatters.