The more things change, the more they stay the same. That could have been the adage many in the Dorothy E. Harrington City Council Chambers were thinking on Jan. 21, when the city council voted to award Bayonne’s new five-year emergency medical services contract to McCabe Ambulance Service.
McCabe won out over the Jersey City Medical Center, part of the St. Barnabas Health Care System, to provide the services. McCabe is affiliated with CarePoint Health, also the parent company of the Bayonne Medical Center.
“They had nothing but good things to say.” – Sharon Nadrowski
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Mickey McCabe, founder of the service, was ecstatic following the announcement. He said he believed his company’s 42 years in the city were a major factor in the selection.
“They know what we do, they know how well we do it, and they know we’ve been here twenty-four/seven with all our resources,” he said.
City Council President Sharon Nadrowski, who was a member of the bid review committee, said the Bayonne Police input from Capt. Peter Nevins about the department’s good working relationship with McCabe Ambulance was a strong consideration in the determination.
“They had nothing but good things to say,” Nadrowski said following the council meeting.
McCabe Ambulance had been the contractor of choice for decades, but Mayor James Davis requested the contract be rebid for financial reasons. The pact was put up for a rebid at the Oct. 15 council meeting.
Both organizations bid $0 for the contract, meaning the city would not pay anything out itself. In the past, McCabe had charged up to a reported $900,000 a year to secure the services.
McCabe Ambulance had been criticized recently for charging Bayonne for its service while providing it for no charge to the city of Jersey City.
Going forward, the company will draw its revenues only from ambulance patients, either from the patients’ health insurance companies or the patients themselves.
Jersey City Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Joseph Scott addressed the council in the public portion of the meeting prior to the official announcement. He thanked the city’s committee for reviewing the medical center’s bid.
McCabe said events in the city two weeks ago, including two major fires, a waterline break, and an overturned car – all of which McCabe Ambulance responded to – showed how much the ambulance service means to the city.
He said the city’s decision to stick with his company had to do with its focus on, and commitment to, Bayonne.
McCabe said his company was where the city “was most comfortable and felt its citizens were best protected.”
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com. To comment on this story online visit www.hudsonreporter.com.