A week after Western Wayne Ambulance announced it would end 24/7 coverage in Walworth, county officials are pushing back on claims that the town’s decision was abrupt and unexpected. The nonprofit service, which has operated in Walworth for more than 75 years, says the loss of primary response authority leaves it financially unable to continue round-the-clock operations.
Western Wayne shut down 24-hour staffing on November 14, citing the Walworth Town Board’s move to name the new, tax-funded Wayne County EMS as the primary provider with less than ten days’ notice. Agency President Cody Szatkowski said the board never initiated direct discussions before voting, despite repeated warnings that removing either Walworth or Marion from Western Wayne’s territory would be an existential hit to its operating model. He emphasized that the agency responds to roughly 1,500 calls a year, covers 95 percent of them, and does so without taxpayer funding.
Wayne County EMS Director Jim Lee disputes the narrative that Western Wayne was blindsided. In a detailed statement, Lee said the Town of Walworth publicly declared its intent months earlier — at a June 24 hearing on the county’s operating authority — and that Western Wayne’s leadership was present, spoke at the meeting, and responded directly to the town’s remarks. Lee also stressed that municipalities, not counties, determine which authorized provider serves as primary, and that the county simply followed the town’s decision.
The county opened its Walworth EMS base on December 15, now staffing one ambulance there around the clock as part of a five-ambulance countywide system. Lee said all positions were filled before Western Wayne announced staffing cuts, and that hiring is handled through civil service lists, not targeted recruitment from any individual agency. He also noted that Wayne County EMS supports the countywide system “as authorized by the Board of Supervisors, as directed by the County Administrator, and in support of the choices of towns and villages.”
Western Wayne maintains that the timing and manner of the change — combined with declining local EMS capacity across the region — jeopardizes the diversity of the county’s emergency response system. They argue that losing their primary territory undercuts rural EMS sustainability and forces employees to transition jobs weeks before the holidays. The organization says it is exploring whether a limited or volunteer-based service can survive while urging town and county leaders to reconsider the resolution.
Both sides agree on one point: the EMS landscape has dramatically shifted. Lee noted there were 22 EMS providers in Wayne County in the late 1990s — including 15 fire department-based services. Today, none of the county’s fire departments operate transport ambulances, reflecting the broader collapse of volunteer-based EMS.
What remains unresolved is how the system should function going forward — and whether there is room for both county-funded and community-rooted agencies. Walworth’s decision may determine not just the future of Western Wayne Ambulance, but the shape of EMS delivery across the county for years to come.
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