EMS director tells Greene County board of staffing, billing gap and plans to accept second ambulance

The Greene County EMS director told the board the service has a new ambulance in service, several medics in training and an ongoing effort to fix billing problems that have left the service hundreds of runs behind and materially lower year-to-date revenue.

"Our new ambulance… is very, very nice," the director said, praising staff for a new employee-designed livery and describing the vehicle’s quiet ride during critical-patient transports. He said the department has worked to invest in employees’ education: David Grant Thornton, the first sponsored student, "passed this national board's first try," and other trainees are completing clinicals.

The director reported last month’s cash receipts were $83,646.93 and said the service is running about $294,136 behind the same point last year. He attributed the shortfall to a recent billing-software upgrade and a migration error that left many runs unprocessed; the vendor is reprocessing what the director described as "5 to 600" missed runs and the department is working with the vendor daily to recover revenue.

He also described operational changes and equipment plans: the county council approved an additional appropriation of $278,500 for a new ambulance, and the director listed the vehicle cost at $272,270. The ambulance is on-site but cannot be accepted until the council completes a required second reading, which the director said is scheduled for the 27th; after that the county treasurer will be able to issue payment and the department will take possession.

On equipment, the director said power-load systems typically cost about $35,000 and stretchers cost $25,000–$30,000. He said the department plans to reuse a power-load from an older vehicle where feasible and has applied for a state grant to help purchase additional power loaders for future units.

The director reviewed fleet status and maintenance: some reserve trucks are operating while others are in extended repair (truck 67 was out of service 32 days), and parts have been salvaged from older units to extend service life. He reported 477 calls in the reporting period and 388 transports, and said the department will add a more detailed breakdown of nursing-home and scheduled doctor visits to future reports.

The director described training and clinical protocols: the community paramedic program rebooted after staff changes, with Sydney returning from leave and enrolling 18 patients; the department is scheduling burn and neonatal-resuscitation training with outside partners to meet certification requirements. For STEMI (heart attack) patients, crews stabilize at Greene County General ER and remain until a receiving cath lab is identified to reduce transfer delays.

The director also reported an anhydrous-ammonia leak the prior week. He said crews approached the scene carefully, decontaminated a few firefighters and residents as a precaution, coordinated with hospital staff to avoid bringing contaminated patients into the emergency department and judged health impacts minimal after on-scene checks.

At the meeting the chair opened a motion to approve the June 16 minutes and a motion to approve the ambulance purchase; both motions were seconded and taken by voice vote. The director said he will finalize pickup of the second ambulance once council payment is processed. The board then adjourned.

The article is drawn from the board meeting transcript; direct quotes and figures are from remarks by the EMS director during the director-update portion of the meeting.