Whenever a winter storm threatens New Jersey, On Time Ambulance is tracking it well in advance. Our Director of Operations, Joe Borer, is involved in the state’s Office of Emergency Management and therefore receives real-time detailed forecast updates as any major local storm system develops. In the case of Winter Storm Jonas, we began preparations about a week prior to the massive storm’s arrival. We made sure we’d have extra maintenance staff on hand and plenty of salt, shovels, plows, and additional personnel ready to clear the way. However, Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate with the weather forecast.
While we were expecting perhaps 8 to 12 inches of snow, we actually received a whopping 28.3 inches at our Roselle headquarters between Friday night and early Sunday morning. Almost all businesses in the state had closed their doors, but that was not an option for us. We transport clients 365 days a year (including during blizzards) and have patients and families depending on us. Some of our clients had appointments for critical dialysis treatments or needed to get home from hospital stays. We can’t let a weekend of near record snowfall prevent us from delivering the best possible care and transportation services. Here’s how we did it:
We have 4 locations throughout New Jersey and 130 vehicles in our fleet. Along with our headquarters in Roselle, we have stations in Fair Lawn, Jersey City, and Voorhees. Once we assessed which locations needed the most assistance, we allotted our resources accordingly. For example, after it had been determined that the Jersey City facility was fully up and running, we sent personnel from that station to assist at the headquarters in Roselle. It’s not easy removing nearly 30” of snow from a two acre property and cleaning off and digging out 50 ambulances, wheelchair vans, and shuttles.
Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Joe Borer, along with Director of Fleet & Facilities, Fred Cartagena, Supervisor, Byron Chica, and countless other dedicated staff members, all trips went off without a hitch. In total, hundreds of patients were safely moved before, during, and immediately after the storm.
One of our managers even slept here at the Roselle headquarters both Friday and Saturday night to make sure he was available to help throughout all steps of the cleanup process.
Asked about the challenging weekend, Joe Borer said, “I cannot expect my staff to be here if I am not here. It means a lot to the staff to see management helping. In the end, we all worked hard to ensure the patients received the service they deserved and everyone went home safe. Seeing our patients smile that they arrived at their destination safely means the world to all of the dedicated employees here at On Time Ambulance."
“There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well.”
-Walter Reuther
