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Morrow County ASA advisory committee drops interfacility‑transfer tracking from standardized report, approves April minutes
Summary
At its July quarterly meeting, the Morrow County Ambulance Service Area (ASA) Advisory Committee agreed to remove interfacility‑transport (IFT) data from its standard ASA report, approved the April 29 minutes, and reviewed provider staffing and dispatch practices.
The Morrow County Ambulance Service Area Advisory Committee on Thursday agreed to remove interfacility‑transport (IFT) data from a proposed unified ASA report format and voted to approve the minutes of the April 29 meeting.
Committee members said the change is intended to focus the report on 9‑1‑1 responses and to avoid tracking IFTs that are not part of the emergency dispatch system. A committee member noted the county is not required to collect IFT data and said recent and forthcoming reimbursement changes make continued inclusion of IFTs in the ASA report unnecessary.
The committee approved the April 29 minutes on a motion by Paul, seconded by Eric; members voted “aye” with no opposition. Following discussion, members agreed by consensus to remove IFT tracking from the ASA report. Staff will update the reporting form and circulate a revised version to the group.
Members also reviewed provider rosters and run/transport counts. One provider reported staffing of six full‑time paramedics, one intermediate provider, 14 EMTs and two occasional part‑time paramedics; names were not read into the record but the roster will be circulated. Committee members discussed the difference between “number of 9‑1‑1 runs” and “number of transports,” noting routine refusals, citizen assists and non‑injury lift assists can inflate run counts without resulting in patient transports.
A provider said they are testing a local change in Boardman to dispatch a fire engine rather than an ambulance for non‑injury lift assists to avoid tying up ambulance resources. Members discussed that such dispatching practices vary by district and that some voluntary agencies prefer ambulance response for those calls.
The committee asked staff to make the reporting template clear about which incidents are counted under the 9‑1‑1 column and which are not. The group also discussed patients who use the 9‑1‑1 system to reach a particular hospital; one member described a pattern in which patients arrive by ambulance to secure transfer priority within a receiving hospital’s system.
The updated report form and the roster will be distributed by staff before the next meeting.
