A Walnutport official is concerned the borough isn’t receiving the coverage of what he said it was promised from its ambulance service provider.

Councilman Harold Greene informed borough council on Thursday that he plans to contact Northern Valley Emergency Medical Services.

“We have issues with coverage, and we’re very concerned about that,” Greene said. “Right now, the borough’s not getting the coverage they were promised.”

Greene said that at this point, he believes NOVA’s staffing is not there.

“We need to know what’s going on,” he said. “We need answers.”

Greene reiterated the plan is to meet with Kristie Wentling, executive director, Northern Valley Emergency Medical Services, to ensure the borough gets the coverage it was promised.

Afterward, borough Mayor Wayne Weidner gave props to Diamond Fire Company of Walnutport for an instance where it was the first on scene and ended up saving a person’s life.

Weidner said council merely wants to talk with Wentling to clear up the situation.

Contacted Friday morning, Wentling said NOVA provides 24/7 ambulance coverage.

“Our call response is at 90%,” Wentling said. “That means that mutual aid comes in like 10% of the time to cover calls when we’re busy.

“There are instances where calls come in like one after the other after the other, so it’s impossible to handle all of your own calls.

“Even if we had all three trucks up, the most we have at a time, obviously we wouldn’t be able to take those calls.”

Wentling added that NOVA faces the same issues just as any other EMS, and that while it recently hired another full-time EMT, it still needs a full-time paramedic.

“We are seeking staffing just like every service,” she said. “NOVA takes pride in taking care of the community.”

Wentling noted that NOVA has mutual aid agreements with neighboring services to provide backup coverage for each other during high call volume periods, which she said ensures continuation of services to better serve the community.

“Obviously EMS is struggling with staffing across the country,” she said. “And we look forward to discussing the concerns with Walnutport.”