Sharon Hospital drops Northern Dutchess Paramedics as ambulance provider
Nuvance/Northwell plans to operate its own paramedic service.

Sharon Hospital
Stock photo
Nuvance/Northwell plans to operate its own paramedic service.

Sharon Hospital
SHARON — Northern Dutchess Paramedics will cease operating in Northwest Connecticut at the start of the new year, a move that emergency responders and first selectmen say would replace decades of advanced ambulance coverage with a more limited service arrangement.
Emergency officials say the change would shift the region from a staffed, on-call advanced life support service to a plan centered on a single paramedic covering multiple rural towns, raising concerns about delayed response times and gaps in care during simultaneous emergencies.
The decision became known on Dec. 11, when communities were informed that NDP’s service would end as of Jan. 1, according to Andrea Downs, president of the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department and an employee of NDP.
Founded in 1994 and based in Rhinebeck, New York, NDP has provided advanced and basic life support ambulance services to communities in Dutchess and Columbia counties in New York, as well as parts of Litchfield County, for nearly three decades.
How the change came about was outlined by Al Tortorella of Sharon, also an employee of NDP.
Tortorella said every Connecticut municipality is required to have an advanced life support provider. For the past 28 years, Sharon Hospital has fulfilled that requirement by signing an annual hospital-sponsored agreement with NDP. In recent years, the agreement was signed by Dr. Ronald Santos, head of the hospital’s emergency department, under whose medical license NDP operates.
When NDP recently approached Santos to renew the agreement, he said he could not sign it, a decision that took the organization by surprise, Tortorella said.
Area towns operate volunteer ambulance squads that provide basic life support. NDP supplements those crews by delivering advanced medical care, administering medications and conducting inter-facility transports.
Sharon Hospital, which is part of Nuvance Health, merged earlier this year with Northwell Health. Downs and Tortorella said they understand that the hospital system plans to replace NDP with its own paramedic service.
Under the proposed arrangement, a single paramedic would cover the Sharon Hospital catchment area, starting each 12-hour shift in New Milford before traveling to Sharon. If needed, the paramedic would be assisted by a paid EMT provided by Nuvance.
Tortorella sharply criticized the model.
“It’s a system designed to fail,” Tortorella said. “This is a huge issue.”
Downs echoed those concerns, noting that the paramedic’s 12-hour shift would include significant travel time between locations.
“I’m very concerned about the health and well-being of residents in the Northwest Corner,” she said. “We don’t want any reduction in services for patients in the region. I can’t understand the rationale of taking services away. Northwell wants to maintain a model of corporate health care, but they can’t put a face to the people and culture we’ve established here. We’re talking life and death.”
Downs emphasized that the decision does not involve layoffs at NDP, which was recently acquired by Empress. She said there is ample demand for paramedic services in New York state and that employees’ jobs are secure. The concern, she said, is for the safety of families, friends and neighbors in Northwest Connecticut.
In an interview, Sharon Hospital President and CEO Christina McCulloch and Andrea Rynn, assistant vice president for community, government and public relations at Northwell Health, addressed the decision to discontinue the hospital-sponsored agreement with NDP.
“Recently, concerns were brought to our attention about compliance and [a lack of] communications,” they said. “This information left us unsettled and unable to be a sponsoring hospital at this time.”
They acknowledged that the timing of the transition was far from ideal. “Despite the tight timing, we are actively developing a coverage plan in concert with local first responders and area leaders. This is a process that is just beginning and we are confident it will strengthen over time.”
McCulloch and Rynn said the hospital and health system remain committed to maintaining service continuity and working with community partners to enhance emergency medical services across the region.
The pair have met with representatives of area ambulance squads and on Friday held a session with the region’s first selectmen.
Gordon Ridgway, first selectman of Cornwall, said people are feeling rushed by the move. They are concerned that services will be lessened, not enhanced.
“This is the most important thing in town; picking up people in the middle of the night and providing immediate care. It has to be done well.”
Falls Village First Selectman David Barger said the meeting was productive and answered some questions, but left others unresolved.
He said he plans to host a meeting in January at the town’s emergency services center, inviting ambulance providers, first selectmen and hospital representatives to continue the discussion.
Ed Sheehy and Tom Taylor of Copake, New York, and Karen and Wendy Erickson of Sheffield, Massachusetts, traveled to Salisbury on Saturday to voice their anger with the Trump administration.
SALISBURY — Impassioned residents of the Northwest Corner and adjacent regions in Massachusetts and New York took to the Memorial Green Saturday morning, Jan. 10, to protest the recent killing of Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good at the hands of a federal immigration agent.
Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot at close range by an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, on Wednesday, Jan. 7. She and her wife were participating in a protest opposing the agency’s presence in a Minneapolis neighborhood at the time of the shooting. The incident sparked protests and vigils nationwide, both in remembrance of Good and in opposition to what demonstrators described as a broader pattern of government overreach.
In Hartford on Thursday evening, Jan. 8, two vehicles that authorities believe were operated by ICE officers drove through a crowd that had gathered in memory of Good. Connecticut Public Radio reported that at least one person had been struck by the vehicles and that police are investigating potential charges.

In Salisbury, the protest unfolded calmly but with a palpable sense of urgency. Just before noon, roughly 160 demonstrators lined Route 44, holding signs and cheering as passing motorists honked their horns. Organizer Sophia deBoer stood alongside fellow activists Kathy Voldstad, Amy Lake and her husband, Lee deBoer, greeting demonstrators as they arrived. Along with Al Ginouves, the group has organized weekly protests against the Trump administration since April 2025’s nationwide “Hand’s Off” movement.
“It’s time that people stood up to this lawless administration,” Sophia deBoer said as the crowd waved their signs.Local immigrants’ rights advocate John Carter echoed that sentiment. “I need to put my body where my soul is,” he said.
Attendees cited a range of emotions for turning out, from anger and fear to cautious optimism Joan Gardiner said it was “outrage and fear” that brought her to the protest, while Christine Clare said, “Being out here today, this makes me hopeful.”
Calls for justice dominated many of the messages displayed on protesters’ signs. Asked what motivated him to attend, Salisbury resident Louis Tomaino pointed to the words on his sign: “We all saw Renee Good murdered. And we all saw murder excused.”
The Norfolk Pub, the town’s only restaurant and bar, will close at the end of the month, prompting concern among residents about the future of the Royal Arcanum building.
NORFOLK — The Norfolk Pub, the town’s only restaurant and bar, will close at the end of the month after 17 years in business, as uncertainty continues to surround the future of the Royal Arcanum, the hulking downtown building that housed the longtime institution.
On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the restaurant posted a notice on its doorway advising patrons that only cash will be accepted as “we prepare to close at month’s end.” The news has renewed speculation about what’s next for the Royal Arcanum, a Norfolk landmark that sold Sept. 8, 2025, for $1.4 million to American Folk & Heritage LLC, an entity associated with the prominent New York fashion brand Bode.
The Royal Arcanum, a large Arts and Crafts-style brick building, was built in 1904 by architect Alfredo Taylor as a home for the Norfolk Fire Department and several other town groups. Today, it houses the bookstore Les Renards & Co.; audiovisual consulting firm Boyce Nemec Designs, which has occupied a ground-floor office since the 1970s; Ruthann Olsson Interior Arts and Design; and the Pub. One of the commercial tenants, who requested anonymity, said their lease runs through Dec. 31, 2026.
The building also has contained additional office space and several residential apartments. According to a source close to the building, none of the residences were occupied at the time of the sale in September.
Local nonprofit the Norfolk Hub, which executed the sale, originally acquired the building in 2021 for $950,000 with assistance from a gift from the William and Mary Greve Foundation. In an Oct. 4 release, the group announced that $300,000 of the September sale proceeds had been allocated to the Foundation for Norfolk Living, a local affordable housing nonprofit, to support future housing projects.
An additional $500,000 was directed toward supporting the proposed firehouse project, according to the release.
The building’s new ownership — comprised of clothing designer Emily Adams Bode Aujla, her husband Aaron Aujla, an interior designer, and his brother Dev Aujla, CEO of Bode — has yet to announce plans for the Royal Arcanum, leaving many in town to speculate about what will occupy the vast structure.
Residents have been particularly concerned about the loss of the village’s only restaurant and bar, which has operated in the same location for decades under various names and owners.
Larry Hannafin and Sally Carr, both lifelong Norfolk residents with generations of family history in town, organized a petition in late December protesting the closure. “The pub is far more than a business,” the petition reads. “It is a vital gathering place, an economic anchor, a significant employer and a cornerstone of our town’s character.”
During an interview in late December with The Lakeville Journal, Hannafin and Carr expressed dismay at what they described as the loss of critical community infrastructure. “To live in a town that you can’t take a friend to supper with!” Carr exclaimed with exasperation.
“When I grew up there were five restaurants and five grocery stores,” Carr added.
Hannafin said he sent the signed petitions — which he last counted at 295 — to American Folk & Heritage on Wednesday. As of Friday, he said he had not received a response.
Dev Aujla said in a late December email to The Lakeville Journal that the closure followed a “conversation” between the new ownership and Norfolk Pub owner Heidi Forler. He did not elaborate and has not responded to follow-up requests for clarification. Forler declined to comment.
Norfolk Public Information Officer Jon Barbagallo said in late December that the town fire marshal was not involved, responding to circulating rumors that suggested otherwise. “This is strictly between the owners of the new building and the proprietors of the restaurant.”
Despite the imminent closure, the bar is maintaining its lively programming, with its popular trivia night returning on Wednesday, Jan. 14, followed by live music the following night.
Still, residents have begun mourning the loss of the town’s only watering hole and evening eatery, while looking anxiously toward the future.
A regular patron sitting at the bar Thursday evening praised the restaurant’s communal atmosphere. “Everyone knows everyone – it’s so great.” She described the closure as “tragic.”
First Selectman Henry Tirrell said Friday that the establishment has been a fixture his entire life and that he even spent the evening of his wedding day there. “It’s a sad thing to see it going away,” he said. “I certainly hope something can be restored there.”
Meanwhile, Lindsey Prevuznak, who has worked as a bartender at the Pub for a decade, announced the closure in a Facebook post Wednesday. Speaking with The Lakeville Journal on Friday, she reflected on the deep ties the establishment has with the community, describing its loss as “a heart break for entire community whose lives we enriched and touched.”
“I’m deeply grateful and humbled to have shared moments with such remarkable people.”

Bryan Monge Orellana and Janneth Maribel Panjon Guallpa of Amenia are the parents of Ethan Nicolas Monge Panjon, Sharon Hospital’s first baby of 2026.
SHARON — Sharon Hospital welcomed its first births of the year on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
At 12:53 a.m., Ethan Nicolas Monge Panjon was born to Janneth Maribel Panjon Guallpa and Bryan Monge Orellana of Amenia. He weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 20.25 inches long.
Later that morning, twins were born to Belinde and Erick Garcia of New Milford. Gabriella Garcia arrived at 8:17 a.m., weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 19 inches. One minute later, at 8:18 a.m., Isabella Garcia was born weighing 5 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 18.5 inches.

SHARON — Austin Howard Barney — known simply as “Barney” to many, of Sharon, age 87, died on Dec. 23, after his heroic battle with the black breath, hanahaki disease, cooties, simian flu and feline leukemia finally came to an end.
Austin was born on July 26, 1938, son of Sylvester and Iva Barney.
He leaves behind an overwhelming amount of junk—sorry, treasures. If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a console TV roughly the size of a Buick, a soot-encrusted coffee pot that hasn’t been properly cleaned since the Reagan administration or creatively bent hangers that he had hanging in his living room windows to dry clothes on, give us a call. Please wait for the appropriate, respectful amount of time. Tomorrow should be fine.
Austin was frugal to the extreme; some may have called him “cheap,” but he preferred to think of himself as a pioneer in recycling—decades before it was cool. His kitchen was home to a vast collection of cool whip and country crock containers. The biggest challenge was finding actual cool whip or butter in his refrigerator with all the containers of leftovers that looked the same. “Open at your own risk” was our motto.
He leaves behind a wonderfully dysfunctional family—a group he tolerated, loved and occasionally avoided.
Austin was world-renowned for his lack of patience, grossly excessive extreme sarcasm, not holding back his opinion and knack for telling you exactly how wrong you were. One of his favorite quotes was, “I was only wrong once in my life. I thought I made a mistake.”
He always preferred his own cooking to anyone else’s—and to be fair, it was actually pretty good.
Austin served proudly with the 6th Marines in the United States Marine Corps from Feb. 10, 1958, through Feb. 9, 1962. Semper Fi!
He was also a volunteer fireman for several years, until he realized that sprinting in the opposite direction from fire was more aligned with his personal survival goals.
A natural mountain man, he ate things from the swamp that most people avoid and cooked on a wood stove for many years. He was an avid bird watcher and found joy in feeding all the animals that frequented his property.
He was predeceased by his brothers, Sylvester Barney, Louis Barney and his sister Shirley MacDougall.
He is survived by his daughters Darlene Hardzog, Margaret Gdovin (Mike); his son, Austin Barney Jr. (Kate); his grandchildren, Savannah Hardzog, Jordan Gdovin, Violet Barney, Amethyst Barney and Austin Barney III; and his sister Anita Baird along with various other relatives. You know who you are. He will be greatly missed.
There will be no viewing, as his children refused to comply with his request to be taxidermied and propped in the corner with a beer or a glass of scotch in his hand so guests could admire him in his natural state.
Services are pending and details will be shared at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Red Cross in his memory.
Austin Barney has approved this message. Approval notwithstanding, it would have read the same.