Posted on October 19, 2017
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI
Starke County EMS is losing ambulance transfers to another ambulance service which has caused a reduction in revenue for the county.
EMS Director Travis Clary mentioned the issue to the commissioners earlier this month in his report to the board and the Starke County Council discussed it this week.
Council Vice President David Pearman said county officials met with Starke Hospital personnel recently and they said they would work with the county to assist the EMS service. The fact that a Porter Regional ambulance is at Starke Hospital is still bothering some county officials.
Pearman added that another reason for the change is that the EMS service is not equipped with particular breathing equipment.
“One of the things that had been discussed before was that they would help us fund and train us but also help us fund the piece of equipment,” said Pearman. It’s not super expensive but supposedly that’s why they’ve been sending so many. My point is our patient mix could not have changed that much in three months where all of a sudden we’re not qualified to do our own transfers. They’re saying we don’t have the required equipment and training.”
Starke Hospital Interim CEO Jeff Fites told WKVI News, “In a recent meeting with county commission and EMS officials, we discussed ambulance transfers from Starke Hospital. It’s important to note that transfers overall at the hospital have been down for the time period that the county indicated they’ve seen a decrease. Our number one priority at Starke Hospital is our patients, some of whom have a higher acuity than Starke County EMS can accommodate, and some of whom must travel farther than the Starke County EMS service area.
We will continue to work with various ambulance services in addition to Starke County EMS for transfers from Starke Hospital so our patients can receive the timely and medically-necessary transfer services they need. We intend to continue collaborating with Starke County EMS, including offering them additional training if they would like it. We value our relationship with Starke County EMS and feel confident we can work together to offer excellent ambulance transfer care to our communities.”
It is also bothering residents in Starke County who are waiting on transfer service as Starke County EMS is not being called to perform transfers as often. Residents reportedly often wait hours for the alternate service to complete the transfer request.
EMS Director Travis Clary reported to the commissioners on Oct. 2 that the percentage of transfers dropped from 35 or 25 percent to 10 percent last month.
Showing posts with label ambulance transfer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ambulance transfer. Show all posts
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Starke County Commissioners Concerned about Drop in Ambulance Transfers
Posted on October 3, 2017
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI
Starke County EMS Director Travis Clary presented ambulance transfer figures to the county commissioners Monday night and the numbers caused concern.
The percentage of transfers dropped from 35 or 25 percent to 10 percent last month. Clary explained that Porter Regional brought in a full-time ambulance that is available at Starke Hospital 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The Porter ambulance service is getting a majority of the Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support and nursing home transfer calls while Starke County EMS is not getting as many.
Commissioner Kathy Norem was quick to note that transfers help fund the EMS services.
“It will affect the taxpayers too. That’s how we fund the paramedic system that increased the quality of care – at the hospital’s request, I might add. That would be something we would want to do anyway and we should have done that. I’m proud of being able to have done that, but like any other business it’s very contingent on your collections and being able to fund that,” stated Norem.
The commissioners also expressed concern that patients are waiting longer than usual to be transferred. Norem said a family member had to wait and that person was very ill.
“They needed to be transferred and they had to wait for the Porter ambulance to get back from a transfer. I don’t know why they didn’t call you guys. I know other people that have had to wait while they came back.”
It was suggested that Clary, EMS Clerk Mary Lynn Ritchie, a commissioner, and a council member discuss the issue and other with La Porte Hospital CEO Ashley Dickinson.
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI
Starke County EMS Director Travis Clary presented ambulance transfer figures to the county commissioners Monday night and the numbers caused concern.
The percentage of transfers dropped from 35 or 25 percent to 10 percent last month. Clary explained that Porter Regional brought in a full-time ambulance that is available at Starke Hospital 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The Porter ambulance service is getting a majority of the Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support and nursing home transfer calls while Starke County EMS is not getting as many.
Commissioner Kathy Norem was quick to note that transfers help fund the EMS services.
“It will affect the taxpayers too. That’s how we fund the paramedic system that increased the quality of care – at the hospital’s request, I might add. That would be something we would want to do anyway and we should have done that. I’m proud of being able to have done that, but like any other business it’s very contingent on your collections and being able to fund that,” stated Norem.
The commissioners also expressed concern that patients are waiting longer than usual to be transferred. Norem said a family member had to wait and that person was very ill.
“They needed to be transferred and they had to wait for the Porter ambulance to get back from a transfer. I don’t know why they didn’t call you guys. I know other people that have had to wait while they came back.”
It was suggested that Clary, EMS Clerk Mary Lynn Ritchie, a commissioner, and a council member discuss the issue and other with La Porte Hospital CEO Ashley Dickinson.
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