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Stanwood reviews EMS staffing, grants and ambulance billing options
Summary
Council discussed EMS call volumes, awarded grants for equipment, and explored options for collecting past-due ambulance bills and creating an EMS handbook and committee to review operations.
Council members heard repeated reports from EMS leadership throughout 2024 on call volumes, staffing and grant funding, and discussed options for managing past-due ambulance billing.
Written and verbal reports show Stanwood EMS logged 164 calls in the prior year (reported Jan.) and monthly call counts that varied month-to-month (examples: 9 calls in March, 5 calls in April in different reports). The EMS reported personnel training activity and new members through the year; council minutes record ongoing conversation about a handbook and mileage policy for EMS volunteers/staff.
The EMS and Fire departments received outside grants: CCCF grants totaling $7,500 toward air packs and $7,500 toward radios were recorded in council minutes (May meeting reports). Council discussed whether delinquent ambulance accounts could be sent to Quick Med Claims or placed on the county’s set-off program; the clerk was asked to contact potential collection vendors for clarification.
Council directed administrative follow-ups: the clerk will research collection-service responsibilities, and council members asked staff to prepare or continue work on an EMS handbook and related policies. No ordinance or resolution formalizing a collections program appears in the minutes; action was limited to direction and follow-up research.
Next steps: clerk follow-up with outside collection vendors and continued development of the EMS handbook; the council will revisit formal adoption of any collection policy or financial write-offs once staff report back.
