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EMS asks for modest increase to replenish equipment reserve; commissioners press for more hospital destination options

5362336 · July 10, 2025

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Summary

EMS requested a 2% budget increase, mostly for personnel. Commissioners raised concerns about long ambulance response/transport times and the county’s limited destination options after area hospital changes; officials said five ambulances operate countywide and that bypassing closer hospitals can trigger insurance denials.

Jamie, Leavenworth County’s EMS representative, presented a proposed 2% increase in the EMS budget, 86% of which staff said covers personnel services. The Department also requested additional equipment-reserve funding to catch up after prior-year shortfalls and to keep ambulance replacement schedules on track.

Jamie said the department added to the equipment reserve this cycle because previous pay-scale adjustments reduced reserves last year. The reserve increase will aim to support ambulance replacement and annualized purchases going forward. “By catching up this year with that, it’s going to put us on target to be able to complete annualized purchases,” Jamie said.

Commissioners raised concerns about transport destinations and regional hospital availability after the county lost a local hospital service. One commissioner said residents and callers often prefer alternatives to Providence (Saint John/Providence system), and Jamie noted the county has five ambulances; long transports to KU or St. Luke’s can tie up units for 45 minutes to an hour. Jamie added that state and insurance rules generally require transport to the closest appropriate facility in emergency scenes and that insurers can deny payments when crews bypass closer hospitals for a patient’s preferred destination.

Commissioners asked staff to pursue options that would give EMS more destination flexibility where clinically appropriate and to check on any outstanding coordination with the nearby military installation on funding for on-post ambulance service. Jamie and commissioners said more ambulances would be needed to ensure coverage if the county must regularly transport patients to more distant facilities. No formal vote was taken.