By Brooke McAfee
The Evening News and the Tribune
FLOYD COUNTY, Ind. 鈥� Floyd County officials remain in disagreement on EMS coverage, and it is unclear what plan will be in place before the current contract expires in the next month.
Tuesday鈥檚 joint meeting of the county commissioners and council built upon several months of debate on the future of ambulance service and a new option was brought to the table for potential hybrid EMS coverage.
The conversation was contentious at times as officials argued on how to proceed at least in the short term.
The county鈥檚 current contract with New Chapel EMS ends on May 31, giving officials a short window of time to find a solution for the rest of the year.
The commissioners voted in March to pursue contract negotiations with AmeriPro Health and rejected New Chapel鈥檚 bid. Many council members have been reluctant to commit funding for a private provider to cover the entire county as they advocate for fire-based EMS.
The council and commissioners will meet for another joint meeting next Tuesday at 4:45 p.m. in Pine View Government Center.
Highlander Fire Protection District has presented a proposal for fire-based EMS for part of Floyd County, but it has faced criticism for its exclusion of New Albany Township and part of Franklin.
AmeriPro would cost about $1.5 million a year with three ambulances and one paramedic response vehicle. Although this is the scenario initially outlined by the commissioners, other options are on the table for the private provider.
One option would cost about $937,000 a year with two ambulances and a paramedic response vehicle. The county has also received two projections from AmeriPro on partial county coverage from AmeriPro.
On Tuesday, Floyd County Councilman Brad Striegel introduced a fifth option that would combine services from AmeriPro and Highlander for countywide coverage.
鈥淩ight now, we currently are under contract to have two-and-a-half ambulances in the county,鈥� Striegel said. 鈥淥ption five gives us three-and-a-half.鈥�
This would cost about $1.4 million annually. This option would involve two 24/7 ambulances specific to Georgetown, New Albany Township and Franklin Township with coverage from AmeriPro for $987,000 annually.
It also would include partial coverage from Highlander adding up to one 24/7 ambulance and a part-time ambulance for Lafayette and Greenville townships. This would cost about $400,000 a year.
It also will help the county see whether fire-based EMS works, he said.
鈥淚 know there are a lot of questions on 鈥榓re they ready, can it work, will it work,鈥欌�� Striegel said. 鈥淭his here is an opportunity to understand how it would work and how we can build on that.鈥�
Striegel said he is seeking the council and commissioners to reach a joint resolution on the option he proposed. The resolution would involve amending Highlander鈥檚 ordinance to authorize the district to formally offer EMS service, and it would involve an interlocal agreement for Highlander to operate EMS within the district鈥檚 townships.
Floyd County Attorney Rick Fox previously told county officials that the existing ordinance for Highlander does not officially authorize EMS service.
The proposed resolution calls for creating a new EMS fund by May 7, and it calls for the commissioners and council to request $500,000 from the county鈥檚 Legacy Foundation, which would involve money from the 2024 spend rate or the whole spend rate for 2025.
The resolution would involve signing a contract with AmeriPro to operate EMS within Georgetown, Franklin and New Albany Township by May 21. From there, officials could proceed with long-term planning for ambulance coverage.
Several officials voiced concerns about this fifth option, and the majority of commissioners have maintained their positions on proceeding with AmeriPro in the short term.
Al Knable, president of the commissioners, said the county needs 鈥渢ime to get this organized.鈥�
鈥淚 appreciate the work that鈥檚 been done here, but the May 31 deadline is ominous enough, let alone the May 7 to get some of these done,鈥� Knable said. 鈥淭he majority of these I don鈥檛 have that much trouble with.鈥�
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 some room for movement here,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it has to also, I think, create a pathway for long-term funding.鈥�
He believes it would be 鈥渂etter to have something organized from the ground up that covers the entire county鈥� instead of a 鈥渇ragmented鈥� solution. He would prefer Highlander to remain a 鈥渂ackup service鈥� for the next six to 18 months.
This could be a 鈥減athway forward鈥� for the fire district to take on a larger role in ambulance service, Knable said.
Floyd County Commissioner Jason Sharp said he does not want the county to be 鈥渢he guinea pig for EMS,鈥� prompting criticism from Floyd County Council Member Denise Konkle.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not a guinea pig,鈥� Konkle said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not at all what we鈥檙e suggesting. And you know that.鈥�
Sharp expressed concerns that the fire-based option would take firefighters off of fire trucks. Floyd County Commissioner John Schellenberger challenged this statement, saying 鈥淭hat is not correct.鈥�
鈥淕et your facts straight,鈥� he said.
The status of Highlander鈥檚 advanced life support training, or ALS, is also a concern for Sharp. He said Highlander requested a waiver for the requirement for 24/7 advanced life support coverage, and the state is not expected to review that request until May 20.
鈥淪o they鈥檙e not even going to have an answer whether they would get their waiver for ALS, which means they would be providing [basic life support] service only,鈥� Sharp said.
Floyd County Council President Danny Short criticized fellow council members, saying he feels they have been inflexible in their push for Highlander.
鈥淗ow about Highlander keeps doing what they do now?鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey do what they want to anyway...it seems like all that鈥檚 going on here is a push and a push and a push.鈥�
Schellenberger said, 鈥淗ighlander does what they have to do.鈥�
Knable anticipates there could be a funding challenge if Georgetown, Franklin or New Albany Township decide they want their own EMS service.
鈥淏ecause then we would have to fund everyone equally,鈥� he said.
Konkle projects that the county needs 鈥渁 sustainable revenue鈥� of at least $1.5 million annually 鈥渘o matter how we approach this.鈥�
Sharp feels the EMS debate has 鈥済one way off the rails.鈥�
"[An AmeriPro contract] was supposed to be the short-term option until we could determine what was going to be the best for the long term,鈥� he said.
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