“Where you live shouldn’t determine if you live.”

These are the words that have guided Larry Wiersch his whole life and as the CEO of Cetronia Ambulance Corps, Wiersch puts his money where his mouth is.

Using data and technology to strategically position ambulances and personnel, Wiersch, who lives in Weisenberg Township, and his staff have increased the effectiveness of the ambulance corps, dramatically improving response time.

That is welcome news for this area since the Cetronia Ambulance Corps, based in South Whitehall, is now serving the Northwestern Lehigh community.

“We serve Weisenberg and Lynn and when one of those communities needs us we can have better response times because we constantly move ambulances around through GPS technology,” Wiersch said. “I can move them around if there is a massive crash because we’ve created a system that is very flexible.

“It’s [about] prepositioning and constantly moving [ambulances]. On most days the ambulance belongs in the community.”

Wiersch also said time is important especially in the case of patients having a stroke.

“[These days] many [patients] suffer no after-stroke consequence, averting major paralysis,” Wiersch said. “In the case of trauma, it’s Lehigh Valley Hospital or St. Luke’s Bethlehem.”

Wiersch said the broad implementation of the new EPIC system will further increase effectiveness.

EPIC allows integration and access to medical records.

“The hospitals love us. They respect what we’re doing,” Wiersch said. “They know we’re getting patients to the hospital quicker.

Wiersch also discussed treatment of cardiac patients.

“What we used to be able to do [only]in the ER, we can do in the home,” Wiersch said. “[Our people] are looking at the EKG or have an IV started and the physician is notified en route.

“Patients are going home the next day with no consequences.”

Since its establishment in 1955, Cetronia Ambulance Corps has continually grown and changed.

“When I first started, the technology didn’t exist,” said Wiersch, who credits Cetronia with being “innovative and different.”

Working at Cetronia Ambulance Corps is not without its challenges.

“We implemented this system back in 2008, when I actually learned about systems and understood how they should work,” Wiersch explained. “But it wasn’t popular in house. We went through a whole lot of training on how we could more likely save lives and make an impact. We’re here to save lives.”

Wiersch has a Bachelor’s degree in safety management and a certificate in business.

“I started out as an electrician from LCCC and volunteered for Upper Saucon for a number of years just because [I thought] it was fun and exciting.”

A TV show called “Emergency” further influenced him to work as a paramedic.

“I did the Access program at DeSales,” he explained. “My wife was very patient with me. We had to move to Allentown and I worked in urgent care for a while.”

Wiersch credits business representatives and others who were future-oriented like Dr. Spiker of the former Allentown-Sacred Heart Hospital, now Lehigh Valley Hospital Network, who knew we had to transition and a board that has allowed it to happen.

“They knew we had to function like a business,” Wiersch said. “You want to have the best of everything.”

Even with success, there are challenges.

“A lot of times people take this [service] as a given right,” he said.

In some cases “they have no idea of what’s really happening or understand what keeps this system functioning.”

“Getting the community to understand EMS always seems to be an afterthought even though we’ve been here for 60 years,” said Caitlin Stibitz, Cetronia’s director of marketing and public relations. “EMS is its own entity, so we’re different from the fire and police department.

“We spend a lot of time working with our elected officials and the chamber of commerce.”

“We get some of our funds from the municipalities. We’re equally as important as police and fire, but we’re in and out before the press shows up.

“EMS needs to have its own identity [and even though] we work together we’re individual.”

Over the years, the growth of the Cetronia Ambulance Corps has exceeded the community’s expectation.

“We had six ambulances and 18 or 20 employees compared to what we have today, 125 or so full-time employees,” said Wiersch, adding there is a growing cadre of volunteers, including seniors who volunteer and a very robust youth program.

Cetronia also works closely with Cedar Crest and Muhlenberg colleges.

“Many of the students [at these schools] are already EMT’s and [this is a way to] make money, save lives and give back,” said Wiersch. “Keeping the youth involved and giving them the exposure and opportunity to give and save lives when they’re young is critical.

“We speak in schools and at church groups sharing the message that EMS is a way to give back to the community.”

“The younger kids are so engaged. They can’t be here enough,” said Stibitz. “We do a lot of community events.”

As an outreach, Cetronia established a week-long summer camp three years ago.

“We had a waiting list to get in,” said Stibitz, who credits television shows such as “Chicago Fire” for some of the enthusiasm.

“It’s really cool to see the interest in EMS grow. I have 10-year-olds wanting to learn about EMS.

“We do a lot with the Scouts and afterward, parents contact me and tell me [their kids] can’t stop talking about what they’ve seen.

“It’s so cool to see the kids connect, talk about it and tell their friends.”

Wiersch explained that ambulance coverage is very expensive.

“We don’t receive tax money, so we’re always thinking about how we could capture more dollars to put into training,” he explained.

“The expense for the organization is incredible.”

“I write a lot of grants and Caitlyn writes a lot of grants,” he continued. “We look for grants wherever we can find them. We managed to get the state involved but we built [this facility] very conservatively.”

“We have an excellent and dynamic board. They volunteer their time because they know they’re making an impact on people’s lives,” said Wiersch. “We tend to be ahead of the curve a little bit. I love doing what I do. We have great purpose.”

“We try to hire the best and we grow our own talent. We created our own ladder here,” said Wiersch, offering the para-transit division as an example. “We offer scholarships to get our people more training.

“This year, we started our own EMT program. We want to give them the opportunity and mold these people from very early on.”

Commitment over the long hall is important to Wiersch.

“I know we’ve trained a number of people who have become doctors in the community,” he said. “They have the brains, the education and the smarts, so we’re happy to invest in them.”

“Our people are excellent at what they do,” said Stibitz, who lives in Whitehall. “I can’t go a day without people telling me about their experiences with the Cetronia Ambulance Corps and thanking me.”

Numerous factors affect operations including the seasons.

“When Dorney Park is open, you’re bringing in 10,000 more people,” offered Wiersch, as an example.

“We go back 21 weeks and interpret that data,” said Wiersch.

Stibitz recalled an incident when the “crew activated a stroke alert on Mother’s Day weekend.”

“For the system to work effectively, it has to constantly evolve,” said Wiersch. “Pennsylvania is known for fragmentation. But people have got to work together especially [fostering] regional cooperation and employment. As our community evolves and gets bigger, we need to monitor those communities and be strategic.”

Cetronia Ambulance Corps is nationally accredited for “it’s compliance in meeting national standards of both organization and clinical excellence within the ambulance service industry.”

“Less than 1 percent have achieved that [status]. There are only seven in the state of Pennsylvania that have had it,” said Stibitz.

In 2008, Cetronia Ambulance Corps was the only provider in Eastern Pennsylvania to achieve this national recognition.

“We’ve gone through three accreditations which is a very long process where EMS executives do site visits, spend a week, conduct random spot checks on vehicles and talk to administrators,” she explained. “We have to submit 3,000 pieces of paper that show examples [and provide evidence] every three years. They’re very big on community.”

“We want to hold ourselves to a high standard,” said Stibitz. “People come up to our crews and say thanks. It’s so rewarding.

“It gives the community a sense of comfort. That’s why we’re here.”

Wiersch said he got into EMS because he wanted to save lives.

“I love the organization I have the privilege of operating. said Wiersch. “If I have my crystal ball we’ll evolve, working together as a team with other caregivers in hospitals, and home care, not as fragmented units, to make [our service] less expensive.

“It’s all about using data and science. I want to see people live better lives in the Lehigh Valley.”