In a joint special called meeting held Wednesday, commissioners from both the City and County joined forces to discuss bringing American Medical Response (AMR) on board as the county-wide ambulance provider beginning July 1.
While most of the conversation remained smooth and seemingly successful, tension arose toward the meeting’s end when Daviess County Judge-Executive Al Mattingly questioned Owensboro Health Regional Hospital President and CEO Greg Strahan about the hospital’s partnership with the City and County. Mattingly asked Strahan if OHRH intended to contribute anything toward the $150,000 subsidy costs required to sign AMR into contract — which Strahan never directly answered.
Owensboro Fire Department Chief Steve Mitchell presented a summary of the City and County’s potential contract with AMR, stating that an agreement would consist of AMR serving 10 one-year terms as the City and County’s ambulance provider, as per state law.
AMR serves as the largest ambulance provider in North America, Mitchell said, and the company has provided ambulance services in Louisville and Lexington, as well as a large portion of northeast Kentucky, for many years. Rather than being operated out of Evansville’s region, AMR would operate out of the southeast region.
Subsidy rates and local job opportunities for currents EMTs played a role in deciding to use AMR as an ambulance provider. Of the four private ambulance providers city officials met with, AMR’s $150,000 annual subsidy was the lowest. It is, however, more than double the current $60,000 subsidy of Yellow Ambulance. After two years, AMR and City and County officials will negotiate a new subsidy rate, Mitchell explained.
As for local EMT employees, Mitchell said he’s been well aware of Yellow Ambulance employees who’ve expressed concern about switching providers, but said he’s told them to “hang in there” as he and AMR officials have discussed bringing current EMTs to the company.
“We wanted them to provide job opportunities for local EMTs. We really feel for EMTs with Yellow Ambulance for what they’ve been going through the last four months,” Mitchell said. “They’re a tight-knit group. We’ve tried to take care of rumors that have been going around the best we could. I’ve been telling them, ‘Quality isn’t about the name on the side of the ambulance — it’s about the people who work inside that ambulance.’ We’re asking them to demonstrate that same level of commitment to this service.”
Mitchell said, according to AMR, a recruitment page should soon be online for the local area, if everything goes according to plan.
After looking at eight different providers, including four private companies, a non-profit-based system, a fire-based system, a hospital-based system and a combination system, Mitchell said finances and saving taxpayer dollars were what ultimately sealed the deal.
“This process is usually a 10 to 12-month process — we did it in 113 days,” Mitchell said.
If signed into contract, AMR hopes to lease the current building Yellow Ambulance operates out of for the next two years and hopes a local investor will buy the building and allow them to stay there after that.
AMR wasn’t everyone’s first choice, however.
“A hospital-based ambulance service would’ve been my preference,” Mattingly said. “Where do you go when you take an ambulance — the hospital.”
According to City and County officials, OHRH had no interest in operating an ambulance service from their location. When Mattingly questioned Strahan’s commitment to the project and, moreover, to the residents of the community his hospital serves, Strahan told Mattingly that he was interested in providing the best of everything for the citizens of Daviess County.
However, Strahan said he believed the ambulance provider should stay in the hands of local government rather than the hospital due to the costliness of running such a service, as well as OHRH’s lack of experience in running an ambulance service.
“Are you prepared to partner with the City and County to provide monies toward a subsidy?” Mattingly asked Strahan. “Or in order for the hospital to participate, does it have to be quid pro quo? I had a conversation with you yesterday, and I still can’t get you to commit to anything, and it’s frustrating. The citizens need to know.”
Mattingly asked the question numerous times, to which Strahan consistently said OHRH couldn’t agree to anything without a contract being signed. While Strahan said OHRH would be happy to sit down and collaborate with the City and County, the yes or no answer Mattingly was looking for was never given.
“I look forward to working with the City and County to evaluate other healthcare-related issues in the community and region,” Strahan said. “We’re certainly happy to discuss that once a contract’s been signed.”
Mattingly said the conversation as to whether OHRH would have any involvement with the subsidy costs would continue in the near future, and also said establishing a back-up provider would be necessary in case a contract fell through with AMR.
