Wednesday, Jul. 14, 2010

Ambulance company doesn't want backup

But County Commissioners might name one anyway.

Potential new business drew three private ambulance companies to a County Commissioners meeting last week. Commissioners approved a change that invites competition for some ambulance services, now under contract exclusively to Johnston Ambulance Services.

Commissioners voted unanimously to renew JAS's ambulance-service contract while allowing other companies to apply to back up JAS on basic life-support transports. Such transports are usually scheduled trips, such as carrying older patients from, say, a hospital to a nursing home.

"If Johnston Ambulance can't handle it all, then you've got some backup," said Rudy Baker, a member of the county's EMS Advisory Board.

Before the change, JAS had an exclusive contract for both emergency transports and basic life-support trips.

But the new policy could harm JAS, the company says, because basic life-support trips are more profitable than emergency trips.

JAS provides emergency, advanced life-support transports to every citizen of Johnston County, regardless of their ability to pay. "Exclusivity allows you to do that," said Jeff White, the company's chief operating officer.

"BLS transports is where we help pay for that," he said. "The bottom line is ... we try to make our [advanced life-support] trips break even, and our BLS keeps us afloat."

In other words, allowing competition for the more-basic trips could dent revenue for JAS.

Commissioners Chairman Wade Stewart seemed dubious of the change. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," he said. "Were there underlying reasons, or are they just trying to be nice guys to the other agencies?" he asked.

"The committee saw a benefit to having an additional resource," Baker said.

Stuart Coward, president and chief executive of North State Medical Transport, attended the meeting to tell commissioners that his service could come in as a basic life-support backup.

"I think it's all about providing services for your citizens here in the county," he said. "Sometimes, we all get overloaded."

Jason Wells, of Samaritan Ambulance Service in Wendell, said his company would locate a truck in the county if it become a secondary provider; Vance Haywood, of Garner Medical Transport, said the same.

Garner Medical Transport is the remaining arm of Garner Emergency Medical Services, the group that provided ambulance services in Garner for decades.

"We have no intention of coming and pushing anyone else out," Haywood said.

Kim Robertson, the county's director of emergency services, said the county should only select one secondary provider, who would then work closely with JAS.

Commissioner Allen Mims was unsure that the secondary company would get much business. Why would JAS delegate profitable trips to other agencies, he asked?

"If I were Johnston Ambulance Service, I'd be hustling up so I could make all the money I could," Mims said.