Grand County authorizes Payground billing addendum and hears EMS update on AED replacement and training

Grand County commissioners authorized the chair to sign a Payground customer agreement via DocuSign and to wet‑sign a Payground software addendum after Chief Austin Wingate (Grand County EMS, speaker 11) described the vendor's role as a third‑party patient payment portal that integrates with the county's ZOLL billing platform.

"This is the company that they use to provide a 3rd party payment portal so that patients can access their bills, set up payment plans, do all of that online," Wingate said. He told the board due diligence on routing, contract verification and an addendum had been completed and the vendor had already signed its addendum.

The board moved and approved authorization for the chair to execute the agreements. Wingate also shared that Grand County EMS staff will attend and instruct at a local Resuscitation Academy in February, noting two providers will instruct on rural resuscitation best practices and others will attend sessions to improve CPR and first‑aid care.

On AEDs, Wingate said many community devices are reaching end‑of‑life and a prior state grant program that helped buy AEDs is no longer available; the EMS team has pursued bulk purchases and outreach to businesses and community groups to replace units and secure better pricing.

Why it matters: the Payground integration affects patient billing access and payment workflows; AED replacement and enhanced training have direct implications for county emergency response and survival outcomes in cardiac events.