History

A.R.E.A. Services, Inc. was developed on April 10th of 1989' by its owners, the
Rumberger family. In April of 1989', Bernie Rumberger's dream of serving his
community became a reality.
Gia Koshinskie, Bernies sister, reported for work at 8:oo a.m. in "Mom and Pop"
Rumbergers garage. Her job was to take calls and dispatch Bernie, and Emergency
Medical Technician since 1979', and Eric Rumberger, Bernie's brother, who served as
the driver.
How did Gia notify the crew that there was a call? She rang a copper colored
"cowbell". This cowbell has since been framed and hangs in Bernie's office.
Rumbergers fleet started out consisting of 3 ambulances. The first call which came
in at 10:30 p.m. was for epistaxis (nosebleed). The pt. was well known to Bernie and
Eric, as it was their grandmother, Emma Haddock.
A.R.E.A. hired its first employee, John Campbell, followed one week later by Ed
Reed. Dan Lewis was hired in September, all other employees were hired as they
were needed. A.R.E.A. was on its way.
In August of 1989', Gia and Eric attended E.M.T. class and successfully received
their state certification. In November of the same year, A.R.E.A. purchased Jack
Rosini's Trucking Garage, the present site of A.R.E.A. Services main headquarters.
Leader Nursing Home signed the first contract with A.R.E.A. and is still signed with
the ambulance company today.
The year 1990' started with the addition of a dispatcher / secretary / driver, all in the
same person, Pansy, Bernie's wife. When Gia wasn't on the road, she was helping in
the office. She like many others, helped where help was needed at that particular
time. For the most part, and even with over 60 employess, it is the same way today.
It hasn't always been easy going for A.R.E.A. Bernie saw the need for a paramedic
truck, which would provide the community with Advanced Life Support. This also
meant hiring a Paramedic to provide the higher skilled level of care. Medic 911 was
born with Bernie Brida at the helm. The need was there, but the call volume for
Medic 911 was not great enough to financially support its service. Medic 911 was
taken out of service in 1993'.
A.R.E.A.'s financial stability was shaken but it would not stop the dream. "It just
wasn't the right time" as quoted by and A.R.E.A. official.
A contract between Shamokin Communications (911) center and A.R.E.A. Services
was signed in 1991'. The communication center would answer the phones from 4:00
p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the next morning. The communication center would contact one of
the family members who were standing by "on call" that particular night. The birth
of the on-call schedule schedule for all employees began with the Rumberger family
themselves.
In 1993', the decision was made to promote David Alderson to Manager. This was a
new position at A.R.E.A. and Alderson was followed by James Catino. The new title
for this position was "Director Of Services". In 1994', the Director was Charles
Heartter. In 1995', another Director was added in which Kevin O'Hearn was
promoted.
The summer of 1994' into 1995' was an expansion and remodeling period for
A.R.E.A. Services. The business office was expanded into the lounge and a second
floor was added to the building. The second floor consisted of a lounge and 2 offices,
one for Bernie, the services Chief Executive Officer, and the other to be shared by
Haerrter and O'Hearn. The increase of the business office, as well as an increase in
contract, created a need for additional help in the office. Sandy Weaver was hired to
assist with all the office duties.
In July 1995', Rumberger added the company's own dispatching system. The
computer network was upgraded to utilize Alpha-Numeric pagers that were provided
by R.F. Communications. Not only did Rumberger expand with the capability of
paging its own employees, he upgraded so A.R.E.A. could answer telephones and
page for other businesses. A.R.E.A. now has contracts with Doctors offices, Heating
companies, concrete and block suppliers, as well as an oxygen supply company.
A.R.E.A.'s telephone system has a 12 line capability.
With the addition of this new service, A.R.E.A. hired more personnel, including
Tracy Rumberger, Erics wife, who filled one of 3 full-time and 4 part-time posts that
A.R.E.A. created with the addition of the paging / dispatching service.
A.R.E.A. now had the reputation, experience and the staffing to offer the City Of
Shamokin a contract for first-due service to the community. City council approved
the contract and A.R.E.A. has been providing that service since October of 1995'.
Between 1990' and 1996' A.R.E.A. expanded its nursing home contracts into
Selinsgrove, Sunbury, Northumberland, Coal Township and Mount Carmel areas.
Not all residents of nursing homes need tranpsorted by ambulance so in July of 1995'
a multi-passenger wheelchair bus was purchased. This helped provide additional
service to the nursing homes as well as keep ambulances available for emergencies
and routine appointments for those residents who require special care during
transport.
In November 1995', Rumberger again saw the need for an Advanced Life Support
Unit and decided to place a Mobile Intensive Care Unit into service. The dream he
had in 1990' with Medic 911 went one step further. Now M.I.C.U. 18 was added to
A.R.E.A.'s fleet and Fredrick Haas Jr, NREMT-P, was hired as its coordinator.
Providing prompt emergency services to the Sunbury area required another
expansion. This time that expansion was to a 4 bay garage in the City of Sunbury.
A.R.E.A.'s second facility housed 2 B.L.S. ambulances and M.I.C.U. 18.
A.R.E.A.'s fleet increases from 3 ambulances to 8 ambulances, one M.I.C.U and a
wheelchair bus. The maintenance requirements increased as well. Ray Koshinskie,
Gia's husband, was added full-time as head mechanic. Eric Rumberger, who still runs
calls, served as Ray's assistant.
In June, a 6-foot-high Santa Bernard was added to the staff, "Life Saver" the
mascot, is an effective public relations representative. Additional renovations were
made by upgrading of the computer systems and purchase of more computers.
Dispatchers were moved to a communication center on the second floor.
Today A.R.E.A.'s main headquarters is still on 6th street in Shamokin. This station
has 2 Advanced Life Support Units - MICU 90 and MICU 92, multiple BLS
ambulances and wheelchair vans. The sister station moved and is located on Prince
street in Northumberland, this station houses 1 Advanced Life Support Unit - MICU
91, 2 BLS ambulances and 1 wheelchair van.
A.R.E.A. maintains many nursing home contracts in the Coal Township, Mount
Carmel, Sunbury, Selinsgrove, Northumberland and Lewisburg areas. The answering
service contracts are also still in effect as well as a contract for the transport of
M.H.M.R. patients. A.R.E.A. provides first due coverage to Shamokin and
Northumberland, the units are dispatched by the Northumberland County 911 center
or directly from A.R.E.A. base. A.R.E.A. also assists with second-due coverage to
the surrounding areas of Shamokin and Northumberland. The billing office is
maintained by Gia, Pansy and Sandy. The billing office is shared by James Zabloski,
who is a paramedic and the services Manager. The Chief mechanic is still Ray
Koshinskie and he is assisted by his son, Ray. Bernie has assigned some staff of
A.R.E.A. specific duties to help keep up with the demand of certain needs within the
service. A.R.E.A. ia a well rounded, respected and professional service that, even
with all the past "ups and downs" is going strong and is here to stay and serve the
community. A.R.E.A. has been able to provide its employees with good pay,
uniforms, benefits and the classes to help maintain a professional appearance and
keep the levels of care to a maximum level. A.R.E.A. Services has been able to keep
up with all the constant changes that occur within the EMS service, they are a
H.I.P.P.A complaint service and maintain their EMS licensure through the
Susquehanna Emergency Health Services Council and the P.A. Department Of
Health. Bernie Rumbergers dream came true and has become more than he ever
imagined.
A.R.E.A. is an equal opportunity employer and there are currently over 60
employees employed with A.R.E.A. Services.



	A.R.E.A. SERVICES, INC. ( Anthracite Routine Emergency Ambulance )

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