SWEMS completes purchase of Bennett Bros building

The Springwater Wayland Emergency Medical Services Inc has completed the purchase of a new building at 7 Lackawanna St, Wayland, NY. This building will soon house all ambulance operations for SWEMS. It is a large facility that will allow the organization to improve and expand on the services provided. The membership’s future plans include much more than just space for the two ambulances and a meeting room. Other plans include a crew lounge area for duty crews and members to spend time between calls, some sleeping quarters for overnight crews, secured office space, a dedicated meeting room and a training center. As a community focused organization, the vision for the training center is to be able to offer more services to the community including more CPR and Stop The Bleed classes. In addition, SWEMS is planning to partner with other community organizations who may need space for their classes. 

SWEMS currently provides Basic Life Support ambulance service to the Town and Village of Wayland, with two ambulances, 34 adult members and 10 youth members. SWEMS has 5 certified CPR instructors and 4 Stop The Bleed instructors. All members of SWEMS are volunteers. 

The new location is the former showroom and service center for Bennett’s Buick, a community landmark for 100 years and the longest continuously operated Buick dealership in the United States. SWEMS is grateful to the Bennett family for making this purchase possible. The members of SWEMS have a strong respect for community history and will endeavor to maintain the historic front showroom, with its iconic Chestnut wood trim work, in its original  condition while using it for a meeting room. SWEMS leadership has also been in touch with the Wayland Historical Society to ensure historical displays are accurate. The remainder of the building, not-visible from the front, will be updated to meet the needs of the agency. 

The organization has raised funds for this purchase through billing for service and yearly capital project fundraisers. SWEMS also has an active grant-writing committee that is seeking funds from foundations and government grants. The members are grateful for the donations and support of the businesses and community members. The remainder of the purchase cost has been financed and donations would be greatly appreciated to help pay down the mortgage and help cover some of the cost of renovations.