Cascade Township board backs plan to pursue township-run BLS ambulance service

Cascade Charter Township’s board on a voice vote moved on Resolution 025-2026 to allow staff to solicit quotes and develop a full program plan for a Basic Life Support (BLS) non-emergency ambulance transport service.

Firefighter Charlie TR, who spoke for the department’s BLS committee, told the board the township currently averages about four minutes between a call and arrival and that overlapping medical calls — where crews are already on one medical call when another arrives — happen roughly 22 percent of the time. Charlie said that under present staffing the department sometimes lacks a third available crew for structure fires or other emergencies because crews are occupied with medical responses, and he warned that leaving patients without an appropriate handoff could violate licensing and “patient abandonment” rules.

Chiefs and staff said the BLS model would provide continuity of care from first contact through delivery to the emergency department for lower-acuity transports (so-called med‑3 and scheduled transfers), using a licensed ambulance rather than the department’s current pickup-based non-transport response. “With transport, we could get patients on the way to the hospital far sooner than waiting for a private ambulance,” Charlie said, adding that private providers’ response targets are often 20–30 minutes compared with the township’s typical four-minute response to initial contact.

Finance staff presented estimates showing roughly $150,000 in expected startup costs (ambulance purchase or refurbishment, training, billing setup and related items) and about $365,000 in expected annual operating costs under the department’s blend staffing assumption. Revenue projections from transports and scheduled transfers were presented as roughly $535,000 in an expected case, producing on-paper parity between expected costs and revenues. Staff emphasized all numbers are estimates that would be refined through formal RFPs and vendor quotes: “Nothing in this is written in stone until we actually have contracts and proposals out in the streets,” a staff presenter told trustees.

Board members and attendees asked detailed operational questions about dispatch, staffing models (paid on-call, part-time, or hiring full-time personnel), training requirements, mutual-aid protocols and how the township would handle higher-acuity calls that require Advanced Life Support (ALS). Staff said Michigan does not require a certificate-of-need for ground ambulance services and that county and state protocols exist for ALS intercepts when higher-level care is required.

Trustee Shipley moved to approve Resolution 025-2026 to formalize the work necessary to obtain quotes, draft policies, and develop a full BLS non-emergency transport program plan for future board consideration. Trustee Nord Hook supported the motion; Clerk Slater called the roll and the motion carried. The resolution authorizes the township to proceed to solicit bids and firm up costs and liability estimates, but it does not commit the township to buy vehicles, hire staff, or start the service without subsequent board approval.

The board also discussed next steps: drafting RFPs, obtaining formal vendor quotes, clarifying dispatch arrangements with county partners, and preparing policies that define which calls the township ambulance would be dispatched to. Staff said they will return with firm numbers and recommended implementation steps once procurement and vendor responses are complete.

The vote carried. The approval sends staff back to prepare RFPs, vendor evaluations, and policy drafts before any operational startup or capital purchases are authorized.