Northwood Mayor Mark Stoner remains a staunch supporter of his plan to have 24/7 Advanced Life Support (ALS) coverage in the city, despite some misgivings on council at a July 7 meeting.

Stoner, who was not at the meeting, told The Press this week that providing round the clock ALS coverage to residents is a priority that the city will be able to afford.

“Council basically wants us to get a new fire chief on board so he or she has an opportunity to give input into this process, too,” said Stoner. The city expects to hire a new chief by September.

His plan, which must be approved by council, guarantees a paramedic will respond to an emergency medical call. Phase 1 of the two phase plan would last until Oct. 15 and would provide 24/7 Basic Life Support (BLS) with occasional ALS based on staffing capabilities.

Phase 2, which would start on Oct. 15, consists of two person teams providing 24/7 staffing, including a minimum of one certified paramedic per shift.

The proposal, estimated to cost $260,000 annually, would be funded by a reallocation from the general fund to the capital replacement fund. Last year, the city reallocated 10 percent of the capital replacement fund into the general fund to allow the money to be used for city services at a time when the city was struggling financially.

The city has seen its revenue grow this year, and council has discussed redirecting revenue back into the capital replacement fund.

“It’s in their court now. Council can say `Absolutely not,’ or `We need this.’ But I’m going to still promote it,” he said. “I, my administrator and department heads researched it, found out how much it’s going to cost, and figured out a way to pay for it.”

Councilmen Dave Gallaher and Connie Hughes questioned the need for an ALS system at the July 7 meeting.

“We moved money around to get through the difficult time we had, and now we’re going to move money around again to develop this new plan,” said Gallaher. “I was looking forward to putting the money away so that we’d have it down the road to replace things and to make major replacements in the city. And now we’re just barely able to see the light.”

He also said “the city should spend just a few minutes looking at what worked in the past for much less money.”

“If we need to do something in a hurry, let’s go back and reinstitute the program exactly the way it was. It was working. I’m not sure that ALS is so much more important. If we can get a response to a scene, and get people on the scene who will understand what’s going on, they can call for backup,” he said.

Hughes said she was satisfied with the current EMS coverage provided by the fire department.

“We have coverage from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday,” said Hughes. “That’s been working. That’s what we’ve had. We’ve never had full-time ALS,” she said.

Stoner proposed the ALS program after a series of stories appeared in The Press earlier this year about a man with breathing problems who waited 28 minutes for the Northwood Fire Department to arrive on the morning of March 3.

Tim Mix, of Parc Rue, died after his wife Ellen called 9-1-1 three times that morning. By the time help arrived, Mix had stopped breathing. He later died in Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center from brain damage as a result of a lack of oxygen, according to his widow.

“There was a problem there, and I’m trying to correct it,” said Stoner. “I’ve had a lot of feedback from the public on this issue. If I collapse in my home, I want someone to come and rescue me. And I believe that’s what the public wants for themselves, too.”

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