Towns aren't talking ambulance contracts yet
Brad Hicks | Erwin Bureau Chief | Johnson City Press
Town of Erwin Mayor Doris Hensley wants to put the rumor to rest the town is not currently pursuing its own contract with MedicOne Medical Response or any other ambulance services provider.
But Hensley said a delay in action by the Unicoi County Commission to contract with another provider may force the towns hand, as town officials want to ensure its citizens have ambulance coverage.
Were still in there with (the county), we want to be part of them, but in the event theres a lapse, then Ive got to take care of the folks in the town, Hensley said Friday.
Although Hensley said Erwin officials have not discussed seeking out their own ambulance service, the town has been approached. Stacy Wigand with MedicOne was present at the Erwin Board of Mayor and Aldermens Monday meeting to inquire about the possibility of his company becoming the towns exclusive ambulance services provider.
Per the towns agreement with the county, the county is to conduct negotiations for ambulance services, with the town relying on the company chosen by the county for its ambulance coverage, Hensley said.
As long as the citys taken care of and we have emergency services, Im completely happy with allowing the county to handle that, Hensley said.
However, Hensley said the county needs to act quickly in nailing down a contract with a new provider. MedicOnes current contract is set to expire on April 1, and the Erwin mayor said the next ambulance provider needs to be in place and prepared to serve all of the countys citizens at that time.
Mr. Wigand at that meeting kind of hinted if there was a gap that they would be willing to come into the city for a 90-day period, so thats a possibility we would definitely look at, even though its not the only thing that we would look at, Hensley said. But were going to make sure that theres not a gap between the end of this current contract and the beginning of the new one where we dont have service. It might be that we have to contract with another county, but if we do, well cross that bridge when we get to it.
The county commission voted on Monday to forgo the extension of MedicOnes contract and put the countys ambulance services contract out for bid. Prior to the move, representatives with MedicOne said they would likely not submit a bid if the county opted to put the contract out for bid. But after the commissions vote, MedicOne officials said the company would attempt to pursue agreements with the town of Erwin and town of Unicoi. The company has served the county since 2011.
Hensley said if Unicoi Countys two towns were to contract exclusively with MedicOne, it would make the countys efforts to find a provider to cover citizens residing outside of the towns much more difficult, since the majority of the countys overall population lies within the limits of the towns.
That would just kill our county because there wouldnt be any options, Hensley said. The main portion of the revenue that the emergency services gets is actually from the town of Unicoi and the town of Erwin because were more heavily populated, Hensley said.
The county commissions Ambulance Committee is set to meet Monday at 3 p.m. to finalize the request for the proposal the county will release to field bids from interested ambulance companies. This proposal will likely be released on either Tuesday or Wednesday and will remain open until Feb. 19. The committee will open the bids received that day and begin listening to oral presentations from companies submitting bids.
Hensley, who said she plans to be present at Mondays meeting, said if the full county commission is not prepared to move forward with a new contract at its meeting in late February, Erwin officials will then begin preparation of a plan to make sure town residents are covered on at least a temporary basis.
Like Hensley, town of Unicoi Mayor Johnny Lynch said his town is not seeking its own ambulance contract at this time. Lynch said town officials have not yet been approached or contacted by MedicOne representatives.
I would think our feelings would be pretty well in line with what Erwin said, Lynch said. Of course, we dont want our citizens to go without an ambulance, but were inclined to kind of go along with whatever the county comes up with.
Lynch also said a portion of the property tax collected from citizens across the county goes toward paying for ambulance service. He said the move for the town to bring in its own provider would be double taxation.
Still, Lynch also said the county commission needs to move quickly as the expiration date of the MedicOne contract approaches.
My feelings are fairly well in line with what you get from Erwin, Lynch said. We do want service for our people, but I do feel like right now its a county thing. Its in the county commissions hands. Im agreeable to go ahead and let them work it out, but I do wish theyd go ahead and be pretty quick about this thing. Lets not have a gap in there somewhere.