What is Advanced Life Support?
Advanced life support is the care provided by a trained paramedic. It can be vital if the patient needs emergency medication, an IV, or a tube in their throat so we can help them breath.

Does Pleasantville Volunteer Ambulance Corps (PVAC) provide ALS?
Our ambulances are staffed with trained emergency medical technicians. Among other things, they can administer oxygen, give sugar to a diabetic, suction life threatening fluids from a patient’s mouth, perform CPR, or shock a patient whose heart has stopped beating.

Who comes if I call 911?
PVAC responds with an ambulance and crew to all 911 calls within Pleasantville and Thornwood.  The paramedics listen on their radios and if the patient needs their skills, they respond in their own vehicle. If they are needed, then they board the PVAC ambulance with their bags of special equipment and medicines. The paramedic then takes charge of the patient on the way to the hospital.

Are the paramedics volunteers?
No, they are paid employees of a private ambulance company.

Will I have to pay if I am transported by the ambulance?
PVAC is a volunteer agency and does not charge patients or their insurance companies. We depend on local taxes and private donations to survive and are available twenty-four hours a day. The employer of the paramedics is a private company who is donating the vehicle, manpower, equipment, and medicines for a 911 paramedic response. However, they have not guaranteed twenty-four hour availability. YOU SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED FOR THEIR SERVICES. Please call us at (914)769-6746 if you are.

Why do we need ALS anyway?
Our goal is to provide the highest quality of care possible. ALS is the highest level of pre-hospital care and the standard for most of the United States. There is also a state mandate requiring ALS availability. The paramedic brings the emergency room to the patient. That can make the difference between life and death in a heart attack, asthma attack, stroke, childbirth, or major trauma.