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New Dickinson ambulance service readies staff and billing for July 1 go-live
Summary
The county's new ambulance service expects to begin operations July 1, with two new ambulances arriving in August, newly hired staff in place and Medicaid/Medicare billing approvals pending finalization with a third-party biller.
A representative of the new Dickinson Ambulance Service updated commissioners on operational preparations and staffing ahead of a July 1 launch.
The service representative told commissioners the operation had 27 days until its planned go-live and that the two new ambulances ordered are on schedule for August delivery. Billing set-up is near completion with a third-party billing company and approvals from Medicaid and Medicare are in place, the representative said. "We are at the tail end of being able to actually bill being set up with our third party billing company, and we've gotten approval for Medicaid and Medicare," the presenter said.
Personnel and training were the chief focus: the service reported it had hired six full-time firefighter EMTs, nine paramedics, an EMS educator, and an EMS executive assistant — a total of 17 positions — and had two employees enrolled in paramedic school. The team completed an in-house EMT academy with a reported 95% pass rate for that class and has developed more than 150 EMS-specific policies and protocols.
The new operation described arrangements with hospitals and surrounding EMS partners for transfers and mutual aid, noting that the service seeks to coordinate transfer timing and provide estimated times of arrival rather than immediately accepting all hospital transfer requests. The service is planning a staffing model that prioritizes daytime transfers over night-time transfers to reduce risks and overextension.
Financially, the presenter said the service had no immediate budget shortfalls and had secured a roughly $76,000 FEMA grant for firefighting gear. Collection rates and reimbursement remain a variable: the presenter noted historical collection rates for ambulance billing vary and the service expects to have a clearer picture several months after live billing begins because of the typical 30-to-90-day lag in reimbursement cycles.
Commissioners asked about ambulance availability and rural response arrangements; the presenter said the city fire department will respond inside city limits and rural volunteer departments will remain available by request or mutual aid. Commissioners did not take action but thanked the team for the briefing and said they would follow progress into the operational launch and billing ramp-up.
