A national EMS company has an idea it hopes will solve multiple problems: consolidate ambulance services between multiple counties.
Jason Jenkins with Global Medical Response (GMR) told county commissioners on Tuesday about a plan that would merge ambulance services between two to three counties, including Allen.
It would keep ambulance services in those counties, while sharing resources and shifting personnel to places they are most needed.
“The most expensive portion of EMS is providing a state of readiness,” Jenkins said.
“There’s a lot of downtime. By consolidating these counties, it decreases the amount of extra personnel you need because you can share those resources with each other.”
Discussions are still in the early stages, so Jenkins did not reveal what counties might participate but said one other county was expected to discuss the matter that same day.
Jenkins said EMS staffing is a nationwide problem, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People aren’t as interested in getting into health care and going into people’s homes. We’re seeing a huge decline in people entering EMS and a massive increase in people leaving,” Jenkins said. “Everybody is sort of limping along.”
The idea of consolidating counties, though, is a novel approach.
“Utilizing employees across three counties solves a lot of our problems,” Jenkins said.
“Plus, it would provide a unity of care with EMTs who are trained in the same protocol and same standard of care.”
Commissioners were intrigued by the idea and called for an executive session to discuss confidential details.
GMR is the parent company of American Medical Response (AMR), which nearly took over county ambulance services late last year. AMR withdrew from consideration after the City of Iola announced its intention to maintain its own EMS service, thus keeping personnel the company would have hired.
The county then signed a new contract with the city, but Iola voted to end the contract effective this coming August.
Commissioner Jerry Daniels, who voted against the contract with Iola last year, asked Jenkins if his company would be able to hire enough staff if the city retained its ambulance staff. Jenkins represented AMR during the previous discussions with the county.
“We’re more confident in this potential three-county model than individually,” Jenkins answered.
