NEW SCOTLAND — A committee discussing various options for ambulance services in New Scotland met for a third time on July 12 at 7 p.m. in the town hall.

The committee, made up of representatives from the town, the village of Voorheesville, Voorheesville Area Ambulance Service, Onesquethaw Fire and Ambulance, and Albany County Emergency Medical Services, made the decision to create a shared, electronic schedule using the service IamResponding.com, according committee member and VAAS 1st Lieutenant Thom Smith.

The website, based out of the Syracuse suburb Dewitt, also provides training modules and alerts by telephone or email for on-call EMS volunteers. VAAS currently utilizes the alert system, which allows an EMS group to do without the commonly used radio.

The committee is looking to have the other EMS units use this service, according committee member and town public safety commissioner Doug Miller. Currently, the subscription for IamResponding.com is paid for by the village of Voorheesville, although it is also under the jurisdiction of the town, says Smith.

According to Smith, committee member and VAAS Captain Kate Odell has been meeting with a representative from Onesquethaw Fire and Ambulance on a weekly basis to arrange scheduling between the two units until an electronic schedule is set up. If one unit does not have a crew available for a call, the other is dispatched; if neither has a crew available, either the county’s EMS unit or another local EMS is dispatched.

The July 12 meeting operated for the most part during an executive session, which Miller explained was due to a discussion of sensitive information. Smith and Miller provided information after the meeting speaking directly to the Enterprise.

The committee had been formed to address concerns about providing EMS coverage in the town, as ambulance services such as VAAS are faced with an aging and shrinking volunteer force, though Onesquethaw members stated at a meeting on June 14 they feel they are not in the same position, being able to draw staff from their volunteer fire department. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. in the town hall.