HUNTINGTON – The Hilltown Community Ambulance Association (HCAA), based in Huntington and also serving Worthington, Chester, Russell, Blandford and Montgomery, has announced the appointment of Angela Mulkerin as their new director beginning this month. Mulkerin previously served as the assistant director to Steven Gaughan, HCAA director since 2006. Gaughan will remain with the organization in a more limited capacity as the assistant director, since assuming the role of fire chief in Hatfield, in addition to being a full-time firefighter in Amherst.
Mulkerin, who lives in Russell, first came to the HCAA as the community outreach coordinator in 2014, also serving as a paramedic on the ambulance. She grew up in Westfield, graduating from Westfield High School in 2002. Following high school, she attended Holyoke Community College, during which she did her basic Emergency Medical Technical training at Westfield State University. She served as a basic EMT for Springfield while receiving paramedic training at Mercy Hospital and receiving her Associate’s Degree at HCC. She then spent seven years as a paramedic in Springfield.
Mulkerin credits Gaughan with bringing paramedic service to HCAA. She said when she started in 2014, there were only 96 payroll hours, and now there are over 300 payroll hours, and they no longer use volunteers. They are also staffed overnight on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
In 2015, HCAA received 617 total calls to the service area, and responded to 538. Mulkerin said 46 calls came in on an overnight when an ambulance was not staffed, and 50 when the primary crew was on already on a call.
“We rely on mutual aid,” Mulkerin said. “If I have no crew, Westfield or Northampton will take the call.”
They also have an intercept program, which means if HCAA doesn’t have a paramedic on duty, Westfield or Northampton will send a paramedic to get on their ambulance. HCAA has sixteen paramedics and thirteen basic EMT on staff.
‘We can’t say enough about Westfield and Northampton,” Mulkerin said. “They have great paramedics, and are very good to our crew and patients.”
Calls get transported mainly to Baystate Noble and Cooley Dickinson hospitals, but they also take some calls to Baystate Medical Ceneter in Springfield and Berkshire.
“We’ll go wherever you want to go,” Mulkerin said.
In addition to direct calls or requests for transports, HCAA also responds as stand-by to fires. Local fire departments also respond alongside HCAA to medical calls. Mulkerin greatly admires the volunteer fire departments in the hilltowns.
“They are fantastic,” she said. “When we show up on scene, they have a full set of vitals waiting for us. These people are walking out of their homes, away from dinner, away from their kids, at midnight – they just drop everything to be of service to their community.”
Last year, the town of Huntington purchased the building at 1 Bromley Road, previously owned by National Grid, to lease to HCAA. The organization also just completed a three-year plan, which will allow them to increase overnights to seven, and includes plans to buy a new ambulance. The two they own now date back to 2008 and 2000. These plans will go to the six towns’ annual meetings in May and June.
Mulkerin also just spent the month writing a grant to FEMA for the cost of a new ambulance, about $210,000, as an assistance to fire fighters. Hopefully, she will hear by March.
“They are not cheap,” she said.
“People in the hilltowns wait to call 911. There are not as many calls, but the acuity is greater,” Mulkerin said about the difference between working in the hilltowns and Springfield. “You feel like you have an impact. People send you thank you notes, and say great things about our staff.”
“People are happy to have us here,” said Mulkerin. “And we’re so happy to be here.”
