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The agency itself is an illustration of emergency response; before BSVAC ambulance response time averaged around thirty minutes-- a far cry from the standard eight minutes aimed for by ambulatory agencies around the Capital region. The original goal of BSVAC was to cut down these times, thereby increasing patient outcomes and creating a sense of safety in a community rippling with gang and drug violence. In addition to this initial goal, BSVAC also reaches out to the surrounding community, teaching CPR, first-aid, and BLS to Bed-Stuy residents. This aids in emergency response, as CPR and first-aid measures can be delivered quickly to a patient even before the ambulance arrives. 

At this time, the group does not appear to have drawn any significant research nor produced any. I would be intrigued to see if medical personnel (such as emergency medicine residents doing their research fellowships) would have any interest in the group, their call volume, and patient outcomes.

The founding members were Bed-Stuy residents Captain James "Rocky" Robinson and Specialist Joe Perez. Since then, membership has extended to other EMS personnel, the majority of whom are also Bed-Stuy residents. This is also the first multi-cultural ambulatory agency and seeks to provide meaningful careers to Bed-Stuy residents

This group has yet to produce a published report; however, they openly provide data about their response time-- which averages less than 4 minutes. This is a significant decrease from outside ambulatory agencies. Additionally, state statistics can be extrapolated to the group, such as noting that the vast majority of homicides still occur with Bed-Stuy, leading to their approximately 100 calls per month. 

This organization seeks to provide emergency medical services to community members of Bed-Stuy, an area seeing disproportionate levels of physical violence and trauma. Before BSVAC the average ambulatory response time to the city was approximately 30 minutes, gravely eating into the "Golden hour" trauma patients are allowed. In light of this, two EMS workers chose to start a volunteer EMS agency to provide emergency care to the city, expose community members to careers in EMS, and teach BLS skills to residents. 

Currently, BSVAC survives on state and community funding. However, as recently as 2014 the agency was being funded by the Commander's pension and funds from re-mortgaging his home. At present time, BSVAC has also received a check from Councilman Cornegy for their timely, professional response to violent crimes involving police officers and for general service to the community. As it stands, BSVAC runs on a budget of approximately 250,000 per year, mostly through donations and legislative grants. 

As mentioned earlier, this group is heavily experienced in dealing with traumatic injuries and responding to larger scenes. I imagine the hardest challenge they face is funding; they typically run on a budget made of a few hundred thousand dollars. This encompasses salaries for some personnel (although the vast majority are voluntary), classes for CPR, EMT, First aid certification, and supplies. With such a large call volume of complex cases (think of all the resources needed to treat an individual with multiple gun shots to the chest or someone who has been stabbed several times), this is quite extraordinary that they can function adequately with such little funding.

As I mentioned in earlier answers, at the peak of the crack-cocaine epidemic, BSVAC was founded (1988). It took outside EMS agencies an average of 30 minutes to reach patients with Bed-Stuy, a time that is far too costly for major trauma patients. This causes the current Commander (formerly referred to as Captain) "Rocky" Robinson to begin a volunteer EMS agency within the city itself. Placing the agency in the city decreased response time significantly, with BSVAC now averaging a response time of less than 4 minutes. 

BSVAC was founded during the height of the crack-cocaine epidemic, when gang and drug violence were rampant throughout the city. While violence has decreased in Bed-Struy, felony assaults as of 2013 stood at around 5.9/1000, well over double the NY city-wide rate of 2.4/1000. This is an area rife with poverty, with median income of about $19,000 and a population heavily dominated by non-white individuals (latino, african-american, multi-race, ect.). Hence, the organization has been heavily molded by this urban, highly volatile environment. The vast majority of BSVAC personnel are of color and outreach is primarily aimed at keeping non-white youth away from street or drug life. The heavy emphasis on gun and drug violence in the area shapes the call volume and type, with shooting and stabbing wounds being a regular occurrence. The agency, for the most part, is a trauma-based service. Thus, their responses to calls would be different than an ambulance without this lengthy history and experience. Moreover, BSVAC has played a role in volunteering and responding to large-scale disasters, such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and Haiti. As members are highly experienced in high volumes of large traumatic injuries, they are well-equipped to handle larger emergencies (similar to the ER physicians in County Hospital of LA or the trauma surgeons in Cook County outside Chicago).

The organization of the group came from within the areas riddled with violence. As their commander is quoted in an article about the 27th anniversary, "People in the 'hood' had no chance. We had to wait for someone who did not look like us to come and save our lives." Commander Robinson is credited with starting the organization in an attempt to decrease wait times for emergency services in Bed-Stuy. Additionally, he and other ambulatory members regularly run EMT courses, aimed at pulling youth away from drug and gang related activities, providing them with an education and a future career. The agency, in many ways, has helped save multiple community members from a short and terrible life marked by violence.