Senator Helming Secures $140,000 for New NEQALS-Webster Facility

GENEVA – Senator Pam Helming today announced that she has secured a $140,000 grant for Northeast Quadrant Advanced Life Support Inc. (NEQALS) to build a new facility in Webster. For more than 30 years, NEQALS has provided paramedic-level care to the residents of Webster and surrounding areas, running almost 3,000 calls a year. As the demand for the organization’s services continues to grow, the new facility will allow NEQALS to house its three ambulances and four first response vehicles. The building will also provide space for public trainings in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Automated External Defibrillation (AED), First Aid, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS).

“A new facility is critical to the current and future operation of Northeast Quadrant Advanced Life Support Inc. NEQALS has provided essential, life-saving services to our community for more than 30 years, and the organization will finally have a space to call its own. Part of what makes Webster a place where life is worth living is knowing residents live in a safe community where first responders stand ready to answer their calls at any moment. These men and women continually sacrifice their lives and time away from their families to serve our community. This funding will ensure that NEQALS can continue to provide emergency services and begin training to equip citizen volunteers with the skills needed to respond to emergency situations,” Senator Helming said. 

NEQALS President Syed Ahmed Mustafa said, “We can’t thank Senator Helming enough for her financial support for our base. The Senator has been a strong advocate for emergency medical services in our communities, and this is yet another example of just that. NEQALS has lived in a variety of places but never had a place to call our own. We look forward to having a permanent base, one that will allow us to engage more with the community we serve and also provide our staff with an environment suitable for the life-saving work they do.”

Webster Town Supervisor Ron Nesbitt said, “Northeast Quadrant Advanced Life Support Inc. provides an essential service to the residents of Webster, and it is critical that we maintain this service to the best of our ability so that it is available during times of emergency. This new facility will allow NEQALS to not only house the vehicles and equipment used in its mission but also serve the public by educating on how to administer lifesaving care. On behalf of the people of Webster, I thank Senator Helming for securing this important funding for our community.”

Webster Village Mayor Darrell Byerts said, “I am grateful for the funding being provided in order to make available a training facility that will serve to educate and equip the Webster community in essential life-saving skills.”

In 2016, NEQALS launched Webster Emergency Medical Service, a Basic Life Support ambulance. This service was launched in coordination with the Town of Webster to provide the community with faster service when other agencies in the Town are unable to provide ambulance transport.

Senator Helming had the opportunity to sit down with NEQALS President Syed Ahmed Mustafa last September to discuss the growing need for NEQALS-Webster EMS to move to a larger space. This grant will help leverage other funding sources to pay for the total cost of the project. The grant has been sent to the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.