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Residents and city officials raise alarm after Commerce ER closure, council discusses ambulance coverage
Summary
Rob Ford, a Commerce resident, and Jeff Hilton of the Hunt Regional Executive Board urged the City Council on Oct. 21 to address the community impacts from the recent closure of the Commerce emergency room, citing longer ambulance transport times and heightened risk when multiple emergencies occur simultaneously.
Rob Ford, a Commerce resident, used the public-comment period to press the city about recent health-care changes and local traffic enforcement. “If you are aware that that was gonna close, was there any efforts made for the taxpayers to get a reduction on the hospital tax?” Ford asked, noting the community lost access to an emergency room and raising separate concerns about speeding and stop‑sign compliance in a new subdivision near North Neal.
Jeff Hilton, a member of the Hunt Regional Executive Board, told the council he and another board member opposed the budget that led to the ER closure and said the board vote was 7–2. “I pointed out that people would die,” Hilton said, describing the decision as one he unsuccessfully sought to delay so residents could be informed and respond. Hilton urged citizens to attend the Hunt Regional board meetings to make their views known.
City Manager Lisonbee told the council the hospital did not notify city officials before the closure; a hospital representative, Lee Boles, visited City Hall the day the emergency room closed. Lisonbee noted limits on council responses during public comment under the Open Meetings Act and said the council can place the issue on a future agenda or direct staff to follow up.
During the city manager’s operations report, Lisonbee outlined the practical emergency‑response impacts: with the Commerce ER closed, ambulances transporting critical patients typically face a roughly 20‑minute additional drive to Greenville, and that increased transport time shifts risk to subsequent emergency calls. Lisonbee said the city’s fire department usually arrives within about 3½ minutes and begins life‑saving measures; without an on‑site ER and with ambulances staged out of town, a second simultaneous cardiac event could see patients wait about an hour to reach an emergency room.
Lisonbee said the city has begun negotiating with the hospital district to ensure that when one ambulance leaves Commerce a replacement ambulance would be staged to return to the community. He also directed the fire chief to assess equipment and training needs so firefighters can sustain life‑saving care while awaiting ambulance transport. The council did not take formal action on the hospital closure during the meeting.
Why it matters: Council members and public commenters said the closure affects response times and could increase risk for residents, particularly during multiple simultaneous emergencies. The city is pursuing operational mitigations but described limits on its authority over the independent hospital taxing entity.
What’s next: City staff said they will continue negotiations with the hospital district and report back to the council on ambulance coverage arrangements and any equipment or training procurements.
