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Escambia County discusses ambulance write‑offs, outlines plan to curb nonemergency calls
Summary
County officials and public commenters debated reported ambulance write‑offs and a plan to reduce nonemergency 911 calls through mobile‑integrated health partnerships and public education. County staff said a formal strategy will be developed with hospitals and brought back to the board.
Public comment and a board discussion on Oct. 2 highlighted confusion over a reported multi‑million‑dollar tally of ambulance write‑offs and described steps staff plan to take to reduce nonemergency ambulance use.
Mary Konopka, a resident speaking during public comment, asked how the county handles unpaid ambulance bills and disputed reporting that write‑offs were not taxpayer funded. "If we pay for EMS, we're paying the people," she said, pressing for transparency on collections and the accounting period used to compute write‑offs.
County and department staff responded that the Emergency Medical Services enterprise operates largely on service revenue and that accounting timing had made earlier figures appear higher. "EMS is a self sustaining department. So they only run off of the dollars that they charge for the services that they provide," said a county official during discussion.
Staff outlined a near‑term approach to identify and assist so‑called high users and nonemergency callers. Eric (staff) said the county is formalizing a plan to partner with hospitals on mobile integrated health: "We're gonna be bringing something out. We're working on a plan. We're formalizing it right now. We're gonna talk to the administrator and lay the plan out, cost, what we're thinking. And we've got buy in from 3 hospitals," he said. The staff goal is to reduce avoidable ambulance transports by providing alternatives and follow‑up care in coordination with health partners.
Commissioners and staff also discussed prior experiments with telemedicine; staff said one telemedicine arrangement generated large bills for patients and was discontinued. "It was, $700 unnecessary. So that's why we stopped that," an official said.
Board members asked for clearer, time‑bound reporting on write‑offs and directed staff to return with the formal plan that will include outreach, education on when to call 911, and a program targeting high utilizers. No budget vote was taken Oct. 2; staff said they will bring cost and implementation details to future meetings.
