Council approves assignment of River Hills Rescue EMS to AMISUB; Piedmont and River Hills support transfer

York County Council unanimously approved third reading of an ordinance on Feb. 2 that assigns the county’s agreement with River Hills Rescue to AMISUB of South Carolina Inc. and authorizes a new emergency system participation agreement. Council made a scrivener-style change to paragraph 1.5 to replace a reference to South Carolina DHEC with the South Carolina Department of Public Health.

Assistant County Manager David Garner told the council that River Hills Rescue and Piedmont Medical Center approached the county about the transaction in late 2025 and that the proposed agreement is intended to preserve local EMS capacity in Lake Wylie while aligning data and service requirements with prior county contracts. "This will be one stand-alone contract for this unit dedicated to that area, but also in benefit of the entire county system," Garner said.

Michael Neal, president and chief of River Hills EMS, described the squad’s volunteer history dating to 1980 and said declining volunteer capacity and reimbursement rates made the operation unsustainable; Neal said Piedmont offered a partnership aimed at sustaining and growing service. "They made it clear they wanted to invest into the community and believe that we could have a great partnership," Neal said.

Teresa Urquhart, market CEO for Piedmont Medical Center, described Piedmont’s countywide EMS profile (she said Piedmont EMS has 185 employees and was dispatched over 32,000 incidents in 2025, figures presented by the speaker) and asked council to approve the acquisition and agreement. Jeff Ledford, speaking for the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce, said paid staff and benefits would protect future service in Lake Wylie.

Council amended the ordinance’s agency reference and approved third reading by unanimous voice vote.