TMCnet News
Hartselle has 1 ambulance service running emergency callsHARTSELLE, Dec 24, 2008 (The Decatur Daily - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Until at least February, Hartselle will have one licensed ambulance service providing advanced life support. That's what Fire Chief Steve Shelton said before a unanimous council agreement to extend Lifecare of Alabama's license to run emergency calls. "We're hoping by at least February to have a better situation with the kind of coverage Hartselle residents deserve," Shelton said. Hartselle has been with one ambulance provider running emergency calls since Samaritan Ambulance Service of Morgan City suspended service. "They have done no business in Hartselle for about two months," Shelton said. The city's ordinance required Samaritan to provide Hartselle emergency services daily. That meant having an ambulance inside or near the city limits all the time. "They said it just wasn't (economically) feasible," Shelton said. The city is writing a proposal to seek bids for better coverage, Shelton said. Until then, Lifecare of Alabama is the only ambulance provider running emergency calls in Hartselle. "We need either one or two providers and that's what we're looking for in the proposal," Shelton said. Hartselle's ambulance situation has been in peril since late 2007, when two providers served 30-day suspensions for violating the city's ordinance. After the suspensions, County EMS and American Ambulance refused to renew their licenses to answer emergency calls. The two companies renewed their licenses for non-emergency calls, such as transporting a patient from a nursing home or transporting a patient between hospitals. On an interim basis, Hartselle was forced to use County EMS and American as backups until Samaritan got its license to run emergency calls in June. Because it has a contract with the Veteran's Administration to transport patients throughout the state, Lifecare is out of service sometimes for a considerable about of time, Shelton said. "We've got to establish something better to serve our citizens," he said. Shelton said American has pulled its service out of Hartselle. County EMS has a license for non-emergency calls and runs back up to Lifecare for emergency calls. Councilman Tom Chappell questioned whether Hartselle could limit who runs non-emergency calls in the city. "Yes," Shelton answered. He said the new proposal will give providers with advance life support priority for non-emergency calls. "Ideally, we would like just one provider," Shelton said. "If we can't get this, we probably don't need no more than two servers." To see more of The Decatur Daily, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.decaturdaily.com Copyright (c) 2008, The Decatur Daily, Ala. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |