WYOMING — When Vince Ciccone learned the Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance would now be serving Wyoming borough, he had concerns.

At 65, Ciccone and his wife are both Medicare recipients and were concerned about how the new ambulance service would go about receiving payment and addressing insurance issues.

Pittston Emergency Services Chief Edward Szafran anticipated such concerns and set aside two hours Friday morning to make himself available to borough residents to explain the new services and the billing processes that would accompany it.

Ciccone thought it was a great idea and reflected the new provider’s concern for the community.

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Szafran said Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance has been providing service to Wyoming on an “as needed” basis, but is excited the mayor and council haVE named it as the borough’s primary EMS providers.

For those who subscribe to the ambulance for an annual nominal fee, the amount paid to the association by insurance providers is accepted as full payment, though patients are responsible if they have a deductible​.

The not-for-profit organization, Szafran said, goes beyond simply providing transport to the hospital or medical assistance to its clients. It also gets to know them in a spirit of community.

For example, Szafran said, if a Medicare recipient’s claim for ambulance service is rejected by Medicare, they are encouraged to call the chief or the department.

“They’ll get a call back,” he said. “Maybe not that day, but they will get a call back.”

The ambulance association will then support them in appeals, providing them with any necessary documentation.

After the third appeal, if a Medicare recipient is denied, the association will absorb the balance owed.

“Problems, questions, rejections, denials,” Szafran said, “We’re available by phone to walk them through it.”

The ambulance service recently assisted a family whose mother had a long list of serious medical concerns and was placed in a long-term care facility following her transport.

Medicare said she could have been transported to the hospital by some other means, but the association assisted the family in it appeals, and the family did receive payment.

Szafran said the organization is not geared toward making money, but in providing service to the community.

Recently honored by the state Department of Health as EMS Provider of the Year underscores the association’s quality of services and commitment to community, he said.

Any money made, he said, goes to the purchase of equipment to benefit patients.

“We have four ambulances and we will be getting a fifth in December,” Szafran said.

The organization also has two squad vehicles which allow the chief and supervisors to be available for emergency situations.

“Like today, I will be doing paperwork, but I’ll put myself in ‘available’ status if needed,” he said.

The Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Association, in existence since 2014 following the merger of Pittston and Jenkins Township, also provides basic and advanced life support services to West Wyoming, Exeter and Yatesville boroughs.

Wyoming and West Wyoming boroughs were recent additions to its roster of municipalities served, and Szafran wants to make himself available to provide information and support to both.

“I’ll be going to West Wyoming in March to answer questions,” he said, “before residents receive their subscription forms in April.”

Recently added municipalities, he said, have the same subscription schedule as had been previously offered by their home municipality.

https://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_GPRA-Wyoming-Meeting-1.jpg.optimal.jpgTony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch

Wyoming Borough resident Vince Ciccone sits with Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Chief Ed Szafran to discuss ambulance protocol for residents.
https://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_GPRA-Wyoming-Meeting-2.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Borough resident Vince Ciccone sits with Greater Pittston Regional Ambulance Chief Ed Szafran to discuss ambulance protocol for residents. Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Answers residents’ questions regarding service

By Geri Gibbons

For Sunday Dispatch

Reach the Sunday Dispatch newsroom at 570-991-6405 or by email at sd@psdispatch.com.