Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corp.

Leading the Way With High-Quality Service

Within the emergency services community, Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps is considered among the best EMS agencies in Westchester County (volunteer, municipal or commercial) for its operational and training excellence. In 2018, the organization responsible for overseeing and coordinating EMS operations in the County, the Westchester Regional EMS Council, awarded SVAC the Chairman’s Award and, separately, its president, David Raizen, has twice been awarded the EMS Leadership Award.

There may be a perception in some circles that volunteer ambulance corps agencies are less capable than municipal or commercial agencies. With that in mind, it is important to know that all EMS agencies in New York State are required to follow the same protocols and procedures, regardless of their structure, and all operate under the direction of medical doctors. The highest level of pre-hospital care allowed is called Advanced Life Support (ALS). ALS is provided by certified paramedics, and allows them to bring the two dozen most critical life-saving drugs and field procedures directly to a patient. In nearly all cases, a hospital ER performs the exact same interventions as a paramedic performs in the field, except they can start them sooner to yield better results.

Scarsdale always has a paramedic on its first due ambulance, and nearly always does on its second and third due. In addition to paramedics, the ambulances include certified EMTs who can administer Basic Life Support medications and procedures. They employ a combination of paid and volunteer paramedics and EMTs to ensure the Village is always covered.

Call volume has steadily increased over the years. In the past five years alone, the number of calls SVAC has responded to has increased 55%. On average, SVAC responds to five calls per day, or more than 1,800 a year.

Due to the operational success of SVAC, they are able to cover 99.7% of all calls received. More than a quarter of these calls are from neighboring towns who are unable to cover their own calls. Through a countywide system known as “mutual aid,” towns help neighboring towns to reduce delay to patient care. While SVAC rarely needs help from others, they are often called by Eastchester, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Yonkers and Greenburgh.