Many of our readers may not be aware, but for the past year(s) Catskills Hatzalah has been assisting Sullivan County to cover their emergency calls at time when they do not have adequate coverage and they are unable to respond to their 911 calls for medical assistance. Over the last number of years, Mobile Medic Incorporated, a private ambulance company that was founded by and until recently owned by Albee Bockman, President of Mobile Medic Incorporated, has slowly but surely taken over the EMS services for many of the townships in Sullivan County. With promises to provide EMS response at no cost to the townships, many of the towns, including the likes of the Town of Liberty, Monticello, Woodridge and the Town of Fallsburg, have closed down their longstanding volunteer ambulance services and contracted with Mobile Medic for emergency medical services. In return for a guarantee of coverage, in many instances Mobile Medic was allowed to take over the building facilities that have been used by these agencies for decades.
In recent years, Mobile Medic has not been able to adequately provide the service as contracted to Sullivan County. A typical day sees only a handful of ambulances covering the entire county, which geographically is quite large. As a result, a response for a priority emergency can take quite some time until the ambulance arrives at the patient’s side. Often the ambulances respond from either Garnett – Harris or Garnett – Orange to an emergency anywhere in the county, a distance of many miles. This is because of the low availability of resources.
As a result, what used to be a rarity, where Sullivan County will request from Catskills Hatzoloh “mutual aid” to cover their priority calls, has now become commonplace, with requests coming in multiple times a day for coverage. Hatzalah members, with their innate desire to assist others, have never hesitated to assist, even if it meant traveling an extended distance to help someone else in need. Often, when a Mobile Medic unit becomes available, they will then request Catskills Hatzoloh to cancel their response, even if a responder has been enroute for quite some time. Regardless of the additional time for Mobile Medic to arrive, for them a missed call is a source of lost revenue.
Mr. Bockman, himself a long-time paramedic, often responds in a fly car to stabilize a patient until his ambulance arrives at the scene. Over the years, there have been many instances where Mr. Bockman has interfered with Hatzalah’s services, sidelining the Catskills Hatzalah ambulances and responders who were dispatched to the same call, until a Mobile Medic ambulance arrives at the scene to transport the patient. Sources tell YWN that as recently as last week Mr. Bockman, while operating at the scene of a serious car accident on Route 17, allegedly refused to allow Hatzalah to transport a critically ill patient. This was a serious motor vehicle accident with multiple critical patients. At the time Mr. Bockman did not have adequate personnel on the scene to treat all of the patients yet he attempted to have the Hatzalah responders removed from the scene. Multiple witnesses have stated that Mr. Bockman got physical with one of the responders who refused to obey his order to leave the scene. YWN has independently confirmed this event and is in possession of video footage showing Mr. Bockman with his hands on a Hatzalah member at the scene.
Preventing appropriately trained personnel from assisting a patient in need, all in the name of profiting from the care, borders on criminal behavior. Local residents have been expressing support and appreciation for Catskills Hatzalah for their service and support. Why Sullivan County continues to utilize Mobile Medic as their contracted EMS service when they are not fulfilling their obligation has piqued the interest of many.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
17 Responses
“Multiple witnesses have stated that Mr. Bockman got physical with one of the responders who refused to obey his order to leave the scene”
I would say he’s crossed a line. In the old days, there was ways of dealing with such people and their company. No, they wouldn’t call the police or tell their mommy. They would make sure lowlife drek like Bockman would be put on the “disabled list”. They would make sure his vehicles were no longer in working condition. Nothing personal.
Does Hatzalah bill insurance? Is Hatzalah respecting these who volunteer for the neighborhood all year?
Not getting involved except not everything is like New Square where they burn down houses
Albee Bokman is murderer. I was at Pine Tree Bungalow colony 30 years ago when he murdered a man by preventing Hatzolah paramedics from treating a drowing victim.
Facts
I am a Hatzolah Paramedic operating in Sullivan County for 20 years. Not only is every word true in this YWN article, but it’s way worse. This man belongs in jail, his ambulance license revoked, and… drumroll… the people he is bribing in Sullivan County to be thrown in jail for murdering local residents.
Long overdue. This is all true and I second the above poster. Waaaaaay more than this. And yes, he IS a murderer.
What is incredible is that this man can’t cover his calls, yet managed to shut down every single volunteer squad in the county over the years.
What is shocking is that if the county officials know that the 911 EMS calls are not being covered by the company that has the contract, then why aren’t they getting rid of him?
Is someone getting boxes of cigars? Cash? We need go know.
I just called the Department of Health and sent them this article. Local residents should be in an uproar.
Do you have to say the guys name?
Why wasn’t the State Police called when he put his hands on a Hatzolah member? An arrest should have been swift, and press full charges.
It looks like YWN readers found something that we can agree about!
I thought Empress bought Mobile Medics. So why is Albee throwing Hatzolah members off the scene? This is going to be tono of fun.
if someone was obstructing hatzalah from providing proper medical care to critically injured patients they should be reported to the local police and sued by the patients not publish in a newspaper to people who have no idea who these poeple are or what is actually going on
Ablee is the County Coroner, so everyone is afraid of him.
Ps he also owns a taxi company in Monticello
lakewhut…. yes to both those questions. Not sure what your point was though.
I remember hearing how he physically stopped hatzolah members from treating a drowning victim in pine tree around 35 years ago and the bucher didn’t make it, nothings changed. For the man to be held unaccountable for so many years and allowed to continue his ritzichis is unbelievable
Albee Bochman owned Mobilemedic but sold it to Empress. His wife and son are still employed there. He’s well connected with the local Jew haters who are too blinded by hating the jews they can’t see anything wrong with his failing service he’s paid to provide them.
His failing ambulance company which receives money from the county to provide BLS for half the county and ALS for the whole county, cannot and does not put out enough emts and medics as well as ambulances (of which he has plenty) to cover even the basic load of calls.
He hates hatzalah as much as he loves money.
The chutzpah is that they call Hatzalah for mutual aid multiple times a day! But this Jew-hating money-grubbing sack-O’ S. wants his ambulances to transport patients so he can bill. He cannot bill if there’s no transport.
The dimwitted redneck hillbillies living in Sullivan county are too busy complaining about the Jews buying their failing stores they don’t have the time to rant against Mobilemedic’s abysmal response times.
I have responded to many mutual aid calls, often overdoses or nursing home patients in understaffed and mismanaged elderly homes all over the county. Ironically some of them yell at us for showing up, complaining that they didn’t call the Jewish ambulance.
As yidden who value life above all we do it not for them to say thank you. Let them curse and complain all they want. But Albee crossed a line and he has to pay for it.