Agency Funding?

[Grady_emt]

I know there are some vollie services, some county services, some hospital based services, but when providing 911 service, does your agency recieve subsidies from the local government (county/city/state) to compenseate for uncompensated costs of care for the indidgent?

Looking for a two part answer, first is what type agency are you (911 response required), and second if you recieve a subsidy who is the one that provides it.


I ask this because Fulton County has recently cut all EMS funding to both Grady EMS covering the City of Atlanta, and Rural Metro who covers the rest of the county. The county also told the various cities in the county that EMS was "the responsibilty of the individual city to provide". A portion of this funding was to provide extra staffing and units to reduce response time from 12 minutes (state suggested) to 8 minutes for emergency calls. Without this additional funding, we are going to have to reduce the number of available units on teh streets and are expecting upwards of a 30 minute emergency response time as there will be no units available and calls holding 88% of the time.

As an employee of Grady EMS, I have received a copy of the "EMS Funding Elimination" Impact study presented by Grady EMS to leaders of the City of Atlanta (COA), Fulton County, The State government, as well as members of the Business Community here in Atlanta. Representatives from Grady EMS have been presenting this to the COA's Neighborhood Planning Units (NPU's) to show the local impact of the cutting of EMS funding to GEMS and RMA. Conventions may not choose to come to COA any longer, when presented that it will take upwards of 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive should one of their patrons require one. The Super Bowl, Final Four, All-Star games, the ING Marathon and many other events may all re-consider coming to Atlanta when presented with this information

In a recent GEMS department meeting, Pamela Stephenson C.E.O. of Grady Health System, Greg Tindall C.O.O. of GHS, and Timothy Jefferson General Counsel to GHS were present to present some information to the employees of EMS Department. Mr. Jefferson advised that after reading the State law regarding EMS funding in a county, that the state, county, or an individual city is financially responsible for providing EMS service to its residents. Many counties provide this service with significant taxpayer money supplements (as outlined in figure 3 of the study), and this is the portion of money that FulCo Commission has elected to discontinue without consulting any of the entities that would be effected.

If you are a resident of Fulton County, this issue will affect you! Not only will the City of Atlanta suffer, all of Fulton County will. Cardiac arrest survivability will be non-existent; strokes will be more debilitating, heart attacks will be more serious, morbidity (serious injuries) and mortality (death) from traumatic events such as shootings, stabbings, car accidents, assaults, even Grandma falling down will increase.

Recent Atlanta Journal Constitution article
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/ems04061.html?cxntlid=inform_artr

 

[Jon]

The BLS 911 service I run with,which has 2 paid daytime crews (2 volunteer crews at night), an Executive Director, and a full-time supervisor on duty 24x7 gets money from several of the townships we serve... this money helps pay overhead costs (rigs, station, fuel, etc). We are not rich, but we haven't really had to worry about the power being shut off, either.

The VFD I used to be affiliated with had the same issue a few years back. The township made a big cut in our funding... We reached out to local businesses and got by.

 

[NJN]

911 BLS squad. We are volly when there are vollies who do not want to be paid, in order to fill the rest of the shifts were paid. We receive no funding from any governmental agency. We rely on donations (501 non profit) and billing, which is always a PITA due to the majority of our area having no insurance.

 

[ErinCooley]

Gotta love good ole Fulton county...

 

[AZFF/EMT]

Fire District. We recieve money from county taxes that fire district residents pay. We also bill district residents insurance if they have it and eat the cost if not. Our district alsoo provides ems transport service to 1 large city and 3 smaller towns and we bill all transports in those areas both insurance and the person for whats not covered. We have a contract with the local prison and nuclear power plant that pay 100% all the time so our chiefs love those calls cuz they pay the bills. almost 1million last year just frm those 2.

 

[NESDMEDIC]

BLS / ALS 911 service - we are a vollunteer service in a rural area that covers approximately 250 square miles in the county. Up untill 1997 we ran on stricly donations and fund raisers and patient payments. We were not able to keep our head above water anymore operating on these income sources anymore not mention having funds to update and replace equipment. So in 1997 we formed a district which allowed us to collect tax money from property taxes, this was the best move we ever made. It has allowed us to purchase equipment when needed, Send squad members to medic school for those that choose to do so and there has recently been talk of hiring some full time personel , I think I will consider filling out an application and making a carrer change and being a full time medic with the service I have been with for 18 years.

 

[Ops Paramedic]

The service i work for is a PVT Ambulance company. We stand alone as a companie, but have some ties to a hospital group. As for treating indigents, we do. We try and screen the calls as far as possible, but always dispatch a vehicle, or hand the call over to another service. When we get there, and there is no immediate threat to the patient, we explain the terms and conditions of the service rendered (Reffering to the green code patients). Should you need to go hospital urgently, we take you, no questions asked. Grants, what are those?? No, we don't get grants, but we have other ways of getting some form of remuniration from somewhere.