ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) — Tompkins County is now paying for an EMS program. 

Grant funding for the 2-year rapid medical response pilot, which provides for coverage in rural parts of the county that had been experiencing longer wait times, runs out next month. Legislator Rich John says the program has a future. 

With an end to the grant funding at year’s end, John tells us the county included funding for the program in 2026.

Legislator John, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, adds legislators should look at establishing a countywide ambulance program in the future. He’s leaving in December after a decade on the Tompkins County Legislature.

FULL INTERVIEW: Tompkins County Legislator Rich John on Ithaca’s Morning News