CHEMS sets July 16 grand opening for W-B Substation

7/6/2015

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (July 7, 2015) – Commonwealth Health Emergency Medical Services is breathing new life into an abandoned Wilkes-Barre fire station.

CHEMS, the medical transportation affiliate of Commonwealth Health, will hold a grand opening celebration July 16 at its Wilkes-Barre Substation, 222 Conyngham Avenue.

The celebration runs from 2 to 4 p.m. with a ribbon cutting set for 2:30. A public open house will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.

Elected officials are expected to join Commonwealth Health representatives for a brief program. Tours of the facility and CHEMS vehicles will be offered.

The newly renovated station housed the city's Northeast Firehouse until 2004.

The substation will house a maximum fleet of 10 emergency response vehicles and will serve nearby Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and First Hospital, Kingston. Both are part of the Commonwealth Health network.

CHEMS, the system's medical transportation provider, serves Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wyoming, Susquehanna, Pike, Wayne and Monroe counties.

West Pittston recently became the first community in Luzerne County to contract with CHEMS. The borough's Community Ambulance Association has contracted with CHEMS to provide 24-hour advanced life support coverage and backup basic life support when the West Pittston crew is responding to another call.