O B article aims to diminish fire chief s power - The Martha s Vineyard Times mvtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mvtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Financial losses force cuts to off-Island ambulance runs
Town working with hospital to restructure service.
Oak Bluffs is expected to cut service to the hospital for off-Island ambulance runs. Rich Saltzberg
Facing steep financial losses, the off-Island ambulance transport service the Oak Bluffs Fire and EMS provides to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is planning to cut down to one on-call ambulance.
At a selectmen’s meeting Tuesday night, Public Safety Director Erik Blake told selectmen that little or no financial reimbursement for transports to Woods Hole and Boston, the pandemic keeping sicker patients at the hospital longer, and an overall decrease in transports have created a snowball effect that has crippled the service financially.