Tazewell EMS seeks new cardiac monitors; county to seek quotes for two units first

Tazewell County's emergency medical services (EMS) leaders told the Board of Supervisors on June 3 that the county's frontline heart monitors have deteriorated and are unreliable, and that replacements are needed to ensure pre-hospital cardiac diagnostics and defibrillation capability.

Barry Brooks, an EMS representative, told the board earlier-generation monitors had frozen on scenes, a problem he said could put patients at risk. Brooks said the three ambulances in the county each need one advanced monitor; the vendor quote he discussed priced each monitor in the approximately $63,000 range. Brooks said vendors offered financing allowing multi-year payments with an example annual payment of roughly $42,000 if financed over four years.

Brooks proposed buying two monitors immediately and adding a third unit later, but he and board members noted interoperability concerns if ambulances carry different monitor models. "If you're going from Tazewell, Carilion, to Bluefield, to Ridgeland's, you know, it really messes up as far as them reading what ... they sent to them," Brooks said, urging a common platform across the fleet.

Board members discussed using leftover fiscal-year funds to make a down payment; the county manager said unspent money at June 30 reverts to the general fund and could be used now to reduce financing interest or to purchase units outright. The board asked Brooks to provide quotes this week for two and three monitors and confirmed it would consider financing options, cash purchase using contingency funds, or partial buy-down to reduce annual payments. Staff also emphasized the option of buying two now and adding a third the next year if budget constraints require it.

No formal purchase motion was taken at the meeting; the board directed staff to collect firm quotes and return with a recommendation and financing options for an earlier June action (via email polling if needed).