HOLLIDAYSBURG — A dispute between Allegheny Township and the Hollidaysburg American Legion Ambulance Service has landed in Blair County Court, where an injunction is being requested to restore the status quo.

In its injunction request, the ambulance service is asking the court to halt the dispatching of AMED ambulances to the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home, an action that started after supervisors, in June, designated AMED as the primary provider of emergency medical services in the township.

In making that request, the Hollidaysburg ambulance service asked the court for recognition of its service to the veterans home since 1982. It pointed out in court documents that it holds a service contract with the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, valid through June 2021, with specific rates for ambulance services.

In responding to the complaint, township solicitor David Pertile has advised the court that actions taken by the township supervisors don’t prevent Hollidaysburg ambulance from serving the veterans home.

The home’s personnel, according to Pertile, can contact the Hollidaysburg ambulance service directly, or in the alternative, they can advise 911 operators they want Hollidaysburg ambulance dispatched.

But those options won’t work, attorney Ronald Repak — representing the Hollidaysburg ambulance service — advised in his court documents.

For insurance purposes, Repak said the veterans home must go through the county’s 911 dispatch center when requesting an ambulance. And when going through 911, Repak said the dispatchers follow Allegheny Township’s designation of AMED as the primary service provider in the township.

The supervisors’ action, Repak said, is affecting a longtime existing arrangement and costing Hollidaysburg ambulance about $20,000 a month.

Legal documents associated with the dispute were filed in late October, after Hollidaysburg ambulance personnel attended township meetings and voiced complaints about the change and the results.

Within the legal documents, Pertile described Hollidaysburg ambulance’s claims as frivolous

“In fact,” Pertile wrote, “the plaintiff is solely complaining about lost revenue, and there is no evidence or even allegations to suggest that any person in the township has not received emergency medical service in a timely and professional manner.”

Repak counters that the supervisors’ decision has “effectively rendered (ambulance service) competition to be a moot point” in Allegheny Township.

Repak also claims that as a result of the supervisors’ action, veterans home residents are being charged more for AMED ambulance services than they were paying to Hollidaysburg ambulance, based on the contracted rate the provider has with the state DMVA.

In addressing the court, Pertile indicated that if the requested injunction is granted, then “every person in the township would have the ability to dictate which particular EMS provider the township must designate as ‘primary’ for that person, which is contrary to the expressed intent of the (state’s) Township Code, and would result in an unmanageable situation.”

As of Friday, the court has not yet scheduled a hearing for the injunction request. If the parties resolve their differences before a hearing is held, a notice would need to be filed with the court.