Community Corner
Be it Ever So Humble. A Tour of the WVAC House.
The Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps' headquarters is located inside the vintage house formerly owned by the Schoff family.
Tucked into the hill behind Wilton's police station, at the end of a driveway that wends its way past fire trucks and snowplows and up a steep rise, is a quaint little house.
So charming is the vintage house with its painted yellow clapboards and dormered roof that one might imagine someone's mom baking an apple pie in the kitchen.
The house at 234 Danbury Rd was once home to the Schoff family, who vacated the home in 1984 after selling to the Town. Today, Schoff House is headquarters to the 50 member-strong Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps (WVAC) who work in shifts mapped out on a giant chart in the foyer.
But for two salaried staff, all WVAC members are volunteers and many pull two overnight shifts a month, plus one weekend day.
Volunteer EMTs report for duty with a sleeping bag in tow, but expect to sleep lightly.
There is a Norwalk Hospital paramedic on duty 24/7. When a call comes in, the EMTs are dispatched in an ambulance while the paramedic takes the "fly car."
The day of Patch's visit, paramedic Michael Rickard was on duty, working in a converted upstairs bedroom where a single bed and office equipment are arranged cheek-by-jowl so that the bedroom window, which doubles as a fire exit, remains unobstructed. Across the hall is a bathroom with a vintage clawfoot bathtub, which has had its own issues.
"We are the only facility in this complex running off a septic system," said Chris Gardner, who was elected WVAC president this spring. Gardner noted that the house is not on the town sewer line. A few weeks ago the septic system failed, rendering volunteers and staff without running water or toilets for several days.
With volunteerism on the wane, Gardner is concerned that events like the recent septic system failure will make volunteering with the corps a tough sell.
"We're asking volunteers to sleep over, basically live here," said Gardner, as he gestured to the warren of small upstairs bedrooms each with an air conditioner in the window.
WVAC members must undergo 180 hours of training and take state practical exams. Each month, they do 24 hours of volunteering (volunteers under 18 leave at midnight) and participate in evening meetings and ongoing training.
"No other volunteer organizations have the responsibilities as these volunteers. They are responsible for people's lives," said Gardner. And WVAC volunteers are busier than ever.
Back when we had about 25 members we accommodated about 200 calls a year," said Susan Kellogg, a 37-year member of WVAC. "Now our calls have exploded to around 1,400 calls a year. Forty percent of call volume is from the locations housing seniors."
The burgeoning membership has paralleled an increasing call load over the years, particularly as the town has added multiple nursing homes and assisted living centers for seniors.
"Wilton has the most of these types of facilities in the area," said Kellogg.
A list of senior housing facilities is pinned to the office wall:
- Wilton Meadows Healthcare Center (148 beds)
- The Greens at Cannondale (107 apartments)
- Brookdale Palce (70 beds)
- School Sisters of Notre Dame Lourdes Health Care (40 beds)
- Mother House (160 Beds)
- Ogden House (84 apartments)
- Wilton Commons (77+ apartments)
"It puts a strain on the police, fire and EMS system. We get calls like people who have fallen out of bed," said Kellogg.
The Town funds just 10% of WVAC's operating budget. According to Gardner, they do bill for their services, but often must wait to be reimbursed by Medicare.
Kellogg said the WVAC house was perfect when they started with twelve volunteers. "When we got up to 25 we said we'd have to cap membership. But that was before all the senior facilities."
And while WVAC responds to calls of seniors who take falls, there is some irony in being located inside a house that does not meet ADA regulations. "A disabled person would never be able to get in here," Kellogg said.
When the Town of Wilton came into possession of the Schoff house, vintage touches like the original bell system for the butler and the clawfoot tub, were just that. The living room picture window affords views of fall foliage, but it's a tough squeeze for 50 volunteers.
"It's just too small," said Gardner. "When we get everyone here for training -- it's just short of 50 people -- we crank the presentation onto the screen in the adjacent room because we can't all fit in one room."
At the foot of the long flight of steps to Schoff House is a temporary garage that shelters most of the WVAC vehicles. (Others are parked in borrowed bays from the fire department's garage down the hill).
Unlike public safety complexes in neighboring towns, in Wilton, the Police, Fire and EMS share one site. For obvious reasons, if a major disaster were to occur, it's not ideal to have all emergency response organizations in one location.
A history link on the WVAC website traces the corps' history back to its roots:
"Throughout the 1970s, Wilton and many other suburban areas throughout the US used the police as the primary responder to medical emergencies. Two designated police officers would respond to a medical call in a modified Cadillac hearse. With the emphasis on speed rather than patient care, any serious patient would simply be rushed to the hospital with, at best, an oxygen mask on his/her face.)."
What is your opinion of the WVAC's headquarters? Adequate or outdated? Is there a site in Town that might be a better fit?
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