Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Local ambulance providers urge caution as commissioners consider nonemergency transport franchise
Summary
Providers and residents told the board Feb. 16 that expanding nonemergency transport services could harm local operators and create regulatory risk; commissioners agreed to continue the discussion at a work session.
Local ambulance operators and county residents urged caution Feb. 16 as the Bertie County Board of Commissioners discussed the prospect of authorizing additional nonemergency transport franchises.
Tim Bazemore, addressing the board under the agenda item, warned that "if we expand too rapidly and too fast, then... how well am I serving the people that I'm around?" He urged careful study of actual need and warned that rapid expansion can create competition that undermines existing local services. Netta Lipscomb of VERTI Ambulance Service likewise told commissioners to "ask yourselves, is it really necessary" to bring another service into the county and cautioned that opening franchises without oversight can invite fraud and service instability.
Multiple speakers with long local experience said Bertie’s current providers back each other up and called on the board to consider impacts on jobs and local capacity. Medex Medical Transport and other interested companies spoke during the second public-comment period in favor of being considered for contracts but emphasized they wanted fair consideration.
The board did not vote on a franchise at the meeting and moved the item to an upcoming work session for further study and to allow staff to gather data on demand, capacity and regulatory safeguards.
