Brooke McAfee
The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
(TNS)
Oct. 9—FLOYD COUNTY — The Floyd County EMS Task Force is recommending a county-based, standalone model for ambulance service.
The task force voted 4-1 at a Sept. 25 meeting to send the recommendation to the county commissioners for consideration.
The proposal was presented by Floyd County Commissioner Jason Sharp. He is the chair of the task force, which was formed by the commissioners this year to come up with long-term options for EMS.
The standalone Floyd County Emergency Services would include three ambulances and a paramedic in a quick response vehicle.
It would serve Floyd County outside of the City of New Albany.
“I think it is a great opportunity to bring some stability to our emergency medical services,” Sharp said. “Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of companies come and go, and we’ve seen these prices change dramatically.”
On Monday, the Floyd County Council voted 4-3 on the first reading to approve a 0.5% public safety Local Income Tax, which would provide funding for EMS contracts and future ambulance service.
The second and final reading will take place at Wednesday’s meeting, which is at 6 p.m. in the Pine View Government Center.
Sharp said the EMS model would depend on a funding mechanism such as a public safety or EMS LIT.
“If you want a county-based or any type of EMS system to work, you’re going to have to have a funding mechanism for that,” he said.
The county’s new ambulance contracts began in June after ending its agreement with New Chapel EMS.
AmeriPro Health is currently serving as the primary EMS provider for Floyd County, and Highlander Fire Protection District is providing secondary EMS service.
Starting in 2025, Highlander will step in as the primary provider for its district in Greenville and Lafayette townships, and AmeriPro will serve the rest of the county. The contracts run through 2026.
Highlander Fire would remain involved in the proposed county-based system as the primary EMS provider for its district, according to Sharp.
The recommendation calls for the fire district to receive a subsidy from an EMS or public safety LIT, and both entities would have mutual aid agreements with each other.
Under the county-based model, the commissioners would choose a service director for the EMS operations, and the council would provide the fiscal oversight, Sharp said.
THOUGHTS ON PROPOSAL
Al Knable, president of the Floyd County Commissioners, said the proposal is “definitely worth consideration, but we need data to back it up.”
“We need to know, what would the start-up cost be for that [and] what would the ongoing cost be,” he said.
The commissioners are still gathering information, and they are not yet ready for a vote on the matter, he said.
“I don’t know whether we’ll have information and consensus to have such a vote by the end of this year or early next year,” Knable said.
“My hope is that it’s probably early to middle of next year at the latest, so if there is a transition, we can get that underway.”
He also notes that with the election ahead, there will soon be at least one new commissioner and at least one new council member starting in January.
“And so we’ll need to get their input,” Knable said. “So any decision of this magnitude is going to require, in my opinion, weeks or months of deliberation that affords opportunity for public input.”
Several officials have voiced concerns about the recommendation.
Floyd County Councilwoman Denise Konkle said the process has been “disheartening.” She was disappointed that Sharp’s presentation at the task force meeting did not include a financial analysis or comparison of costs.
“And now they want to put a new tax in place to support that,” she said. “The commissioners haven’t even voted on it yet, so we’re not sure that’s going to be the model that’s followed.”
The public safety LIT would generate about $14 million in total, and a large portion would go to other taxing units such as the City of New Albany.
Of the revenue generated, about $6.4 million would go toward the county government, which could also be used for public safety services other than EMS.
Floyd County Commissioner John Schellenberger said he does not support the standalone model and would prefer to see further consideration of a fire-based option.
“You’re going to have to staff people up, you’ve got to have locations to store the ambulances separate from the fire departments,” Schellenberger said. “It’s going to be a huge cost.”
Highlander Fire already has personnel and ambulances for EMS service, and he would prefer to provide funding for other fire districts to purchase ambulances and “staff up.”
He is also concerned about the lack of financial data on the standalone model, and he feels there is a need for “robust discussion” among officials and the public on funding.
Floyd County Council President Danny Short said he sees benefits from the proposed model, including offering the county more control over ambulance service.
He said there is not enough “buy-in” from the fire districts for a fire-based EMS model that serves the entire county.
Short emphasized the staffing challenges facing EMS entities, and he feels the proposed system would provide “a chance to make a career out of it.”
“I think that’s going to give us an advantage in hiring qualified people over some of these other models,” he said.
He said if the commissioners approved the EMS recommendation, the county would need to begin considering the purchase of trucks and equipment.
He is in favor of the public safety LIT to allow for a model such as the county-based EMS.
“We’re a growing community,” Short said. “Our citizens are demanding services, and we’re going to provide them. This is the best long-term way and most flexible way to do it.”
POTENTIAL BENEFITS
Sharp listed several possibilities available with the county-based EMS model.
The proposal was inspired by a standalone EMS model in Putnam County, Indiana.
“They’re pioneering the field right now,” Sharp said.
The public safety LIT would provide a funding mechanism to “provide emergency medical services and enhance some of our other emergency services,” he said.
The revenue stream would allow the county to determine billing and prevent residents from personally receiving ambulance bills, Sharp said.
“It allows us to basically bill a patient’s insurance and write off the rest since there’s a funding mechanism put into place,” he said.
“And I think that’s a great return on investment considering that many times on emergency transports, what’s left over out of the bill is far past what insurance pays.”
This would help alleviate stress for people who may be questioning whether they can afford ambulance treatment and transport, he said.
“It causes sometimes people to hesitate to call,” Sharp said. “And next thing you know, their condition has gotten worse, and that results in more negative outcomes.”
Sharp is also calling for the system to involve a “training institution” to instruct up to the paramedic level.
The countywide option is also “scalable,” so the City of New Albany would have the option to join the system, he said.
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