Proposal brought forth to outline future EMS service in Whitley County
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
On Monday, Whitley County Commissioners heard a new plan for the county's EMS care.
The plan was proposed by EMS consultant Jim Freeman, according to County Commissioner Don Amber, who also helped in the process.
Amber, who had been involved in local emergency care for decades, had a vision of how he'd like to see local EMS service operate -- but, he said, "I couldn't quite understand the financial aspect."
For that, he approached Freeman and asked for his advice. Freeman has extensive knowledge of ambulance billing and the financial aspect of EMS management.
"He consulted Fulton County from out of a hospital-run program to a county-run program," Amber added. With Freeman's input, Amber believes that could happen here as well.
The result -- an EMS service that would be fully county-run and county owned. "We would not continue paying Parkview to manage our EMS service," Amber stated. "The county is now responsible to pay Parkview to a break-even point," he added, saying that every year questions about funding of the EMS program and a sense of distrust about the current arrangement between the hospital system and the county prevail in local government. "Every year, we go through this."
Amber believes a true, county-owned EMS service is the answer to cost and would alleviate the distrust. "It will enhance service and at a lower cost," he said. "If council doesn't like that, they know what alternative exists."
Parkview recently proposed a one to five year contract with the county for EMS care with several payment options. In a tiered structure, the first year would cost the county $320,000 and each year would progressively increase in cost to a five year level of $400,000 with a total outlay of $1.8 million. Another option would include paying Parkview $360,000 a year for five years.
"For that, they would build a new EMS garage on the new campus and restructure service to provide one 24-48 hour and one 12-hour crew in the ER," Amber said.
Instead of all that, and for a lesser cost, Amber believes Whitley County EMS could remain at their current location on Oak Street.
"When we signed with Parkview, we got a 50 year lease on the building," Amber said. "We have 34 years left on that lease." When Parkview Whitley Hospital moves to their new location and tears down the existing hospital, Amber added, it would be then necessary to have all utilities moved to the EMS building as they are currently run through the hospital. "There is much yet to determine with that," he said.
In many ways, Amber is stuck in the middle of the county EMS debates and as such, won't likely be able to vote on the matter.
"I voted for the Parkview proposal," he said of the agreement signed with Parkview years ago, and as such is a Parkview employee. "But, I'm also a county employee and would vote myself out of a job," he said of the decision he, as a commissioner, might make in choosing how to handle EMS service in the future.
"(Fellow commissioners) George (Schrumpf) and Tom (Rethlake) are likely to make the vote on this pending legal advice," Amber said. "George is a great asset. He's been studying this hard."
"We've got some big issues we've got to deal with," Amber concluded.
Since the inception of EMS in Whitley County in 1976, it has been funded by Whitley County and has been managed by the local hospital.
Click the link below to see the full scale EMS proposal presented to Commissioners on Monday.
On Monday, Whitley County Commissioners heard a new plan for the county's EMS care.
The plan was proposed by EMS consultant Jim Freeman, according to County Commissioner Don Amber, who also helped in the process.
Amber, who had been involved in local emergency care for decades, had a vision of how he'd like to see local EMS service operate -- but, he said, "I couldn't quite understand the financial aspect."
For that, he approached Freeman and asked for his advice. Freeman has extensive knowledge of ambulance billing and the financial aspect of EMS management.
"He consulted Fulton County from out of a hospital-run program to a county-run program," Amber added. With Freeman's input, Amber believes that could happen here as well.
The result -- an EMS service that would be fully county-run and county owned. "We would not continue paying Parkview to manage our EMS service," Amber stated. "The county is now responsible to pay Parkview to a break-even point," he added, saying that every year questions about funding of the EMS program and a sense of distrust about the current arrangement between the hospital system and the county prevail in local government. "Every year, we go through this."
Amber believes a true, county-owned EMS service is the answer to cost and would alleviate the distrust. "It will enhance service and at a lower cost," he said. "If council doesn't like that, they know what alternative exists."
Parkview recently proposed a one to five year contract with the county for EMS care with several payment options. In a tiered structure, the first year would cost the county $320,000 and each year would progressively increase in cost to a five year level of $400,000 with a total outlay of $1.8 million. Another option would include paying Parkview $360,000 a year for five years.
"For that, they would build a new EMS garage on the new campus and restructure service to provide one 24-48 hour and one 12-hour crew in the ER," Amber said.
Instead of all that, and for a lesser cost, Amber believes Whitley County EMS could remain at their current location on Oak Street.
"When we signed with Parkview, we got a 50 year lease on the building," Amber said. "We have 34 years left on that lease." When Parkview Whitley Hospital moves to their new location and tears down the existing hospital, Amber added, it would be then necessary to have all utilities moved to the EMS building as they are currently run through the hospital. "There is much yet to determine with that," he said.
In many ways, Amber is stuck in the middle of the county EMS debates and as such, won't likely be able to vote on the matter.
"I voted for the Parkview proposal," he said of the agreement signed with Parkview years ago, and as such is a Parkview employee. "But, I'm also a county employee and would vote myself out of a job," he said of the decision he, as a commissioner, might make in choosing how to handle EMS service in the future.
"(Fellow commissioners) George (Schrumpf) and Tom (Rethlake) are likely to make the vote on this pending legal advice," Amber said. "George is a great asset. He's been studying this hard."
"We've got some big issues we've got to deal with," Amber concluded.
Since the inception of EMS in Whitley County in 1976, it has been funded by Whitley County and has been managed by the local hospital.
Click the link below to see the full scale EMS proposal presented to Commissioners on Monday.
EMS Enhancement Proposal
Will:• Make EMS a department of the county. EMS would be responsible only to the county officials and not to both county and hospital officials
• Provide Paramedic service to Churubusco and South Whitley quicker than the current program by placing Paramedics in those communities 24 hours per day.
• End the current system of sending two ambulances to one location when only one is required.
• Maintain the current number and levels of employees and assure them of continued employment in the field they chose.
• Decrease the subsidy needed to maintain EMS.
• Decrease or end the use of CEDIT funds to maintain EMS and instead use such funds for the purpose(s) in which they were intended.
• Help keep Paramedics in the county to serve its citizens instead of being out of the county on interfacility transfers.
• Save money on fuel and repair costs by having fewer ambulances on the road.