Foxwall EMS has a new chief and ambulance

Foxwall EMS has a new chief and a new ambulance.

The official ambulance service provider of Aspinwall and Fox Chapel is now run by Ben Shopland of Pittsburgh’s North Side.

He was selected out of multiple candidates and five finalists to formally replace the late Tony Cuda, who died Oct. 28.

Cuda, 54, served with numerous local departments, from Swissvale to Aspinwall to Penn Hills, inspiring countless members with his mentoring and benchmark of excellence.

He led Foxwall for only three years but spent decades in emergency services, starting as a teen in Swissvale.

Gino Mollica served as acting chief following Cuda’s passing. Shopland took over June 17.

The Indiana, Pa., native said he has learned a lot from Mollica during the transition and is excited to serve.

“Gino has done a really fabulous job managing this organization through a difficult period with the loss of Chief Cuda,” Shopland said. “I think it would have been admirable just to keep the place afloat given that situation.

“He did so much more than that — working with the communities on transparency and making sure they were comfortable giving us the funding for a new ambulance and the funding for improved wages. I think he really went above and beyond.”

Fox Chapel and Aspinwall councils recently voted to approve increasing their annual contributions to the ambulance company in part to pay for new equipment and boost recruitment and employee retention.

New vehicle

Foxwall is replacing a 2013 ambulance with a new 2024 Ford model.

The old ambulance had a lot of electrical issues, and repair costs were draining resources. Foxwall also has a 2008 and 2021 ambulance. All three were still in service as of June 26.

The new ambulance was delivered through Scottdale-based Speclin Emergency Vehicle Sales & Service.

It’s expected to be ready for calls sometime in July pending inspections and approvals from EMS West.

It is fitted for advanced life support with the latest equipment and medicines available to EMS companies.

One of the features is a power load stretcher. That’s an automated transport system that allows for easy lifting and moving of patients, saving emergency responders some physical straining.

It also has shoulder harnesses instead of just lap seat belts, which provide crews with more mobility to treat people while still being secure in case of an accident.

Finding a leader

The chief’s search was led by Foxwall’s board of directors and a committee of staffers. Capt. Jordan Smith was on the committee.

“Not only does Ben have extensive experience on being a medical provider flying with STAT MedEvac and treating his own patients, he understands the work that a crew does,” Smith said. “Foxwall is close-knit. We needed someone who was going to be supportive of that and happy to be in an environment like that.”

Board President Rob Tenenini echoed Smith’s comments.

“Ben is a pretty great guy,” Tenenini said via email. “Some of the qualities that resonated with the hiring committee were his past leadership roles, his knowledge and industry skill set, his strategic mindset and his ability to connect with others.

“Foxwall is excited for the future as we have also received a new ambulance this week. We have and will continue to strive to provide the best pre-hospital care to the residents we serve.”

Tenenini said the chief’s salary is “comparative to what the other chiefs in the area are making.”

Actual figures were not released.

An online search of annual EMS chief salaries through ZipRecruiter listed compensation between $33,000 to about $201,000 with the national average at nearly $125,000.

Chief’s resume

Shopland was studying to become a sound engineer at Duquesne University when a classmate urged him to take an EMT class on the weekend.

He would go on to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in music technology — but took a different career path.

“You need a lot of passion to be successful, and I just wasn’t that passionate about it,” Shopland said about the music industry. “It felt more like a hobby for me at that point, and I had taken my EMT class and done some part-time work as an EMT during college.

“I decided I wanted to swap my hobby and my career around.”

Shopland enrolled in paramedic training at Community College of Allegheny County and then earned a master’s degree in health care administration from Point Park University.

He credits his first job in the medical field to the Ligonier Camp & Conference Center, where he worked as a lifeguard for a summer during college.

Shopland served as a nonemergency transport for the defunct Absolute Medical Transport in Lawrenceville.

He was an EMT at Hampton Township EMS in 2011 and then a paramedic at NorthWest EMS for about five years before becoming a flight paramedic for STAT MedEvac.

Shopland served as a senior manager of clinical operations for UPMC in Home.

He had a team of EMTs, paramedics and nurses who provided emergency department and hospital care at patients’ homes with assistance from telemedicine physicians.

One of the program’s goals was to reduce hospital overcrowding during the pandemic while still providing quality care.

“I’ve always been someone who chases what’s interesting,” Shopland said. “In medicine, you have the opportunity to help people. One of the reasons I like being in a leadership role is that you get the opportunity to help people on a larger scale. Looking at system problems, looking at how well a system operates instead of just taking care of the patient in front of you. You get to think about the big picture.”

Shopland said one of his goals as chief is to continue advocating for increased wages and benefits for paramedics and EMTs.

“I don’t think anybody who’s here thinks of this as just a job,” the chief said. “It’s a mission. It’s a calling. It’s something that people are really invested in.”

Foxwall is a mix of paid workers and volunteers. It has four full-time staffers, including Shopland and Smith. There are 27 EMTs, 19 paramedics, two nurses and two advanced EMTs.