Indiana Union Deciding Whether to End Ambulance Service

Sept. 03--NEW ALBANY -- A union vote will be taken this week on a contract that includes a proposal to end ambulance service through the New Albany Fire Department in favor of entering into a deal with a private company.

The New Albany fire union is slated to take ballots today through Thursday on the contract. The fire department operates one ambulance, and city officials believe privatizing the service could save money.

Pending the outcome of the union vote, the city is prepared to enter into an agreement with Rural Metro Ambulance Services of Louisville. If approved, Rural Metro would provide three ambulances daily for New Albany to respond to 911 calls.

If the deal comes to fruition, Mayor Jeff Gahan said the partnership would "allow the City of New Albany to continue providing this much-needed service in a more financially responsible manner."

But he stressed the fire union still must approve the change.

Tim Bailey, president of the New Albany fire union, declined to comment on the matter until after the votes have been counted.

Ending the city's public ambulance operation has been discussed for several years including during previous Mayor Doug England's term. In 2009, the fire department cut back on staffing a second city ambulance to eliminate overtime pay, as the union contract only calls for one ambulance to be operational.

The NAFD has an intermediate state certification level for emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, but that classification stage will be eliminated due to new regulations set to begin in 2014.

The NAFD will be required to transition to the highest certification level, known as the paramedic level, by 2014. Rural Metro operates at the paramedic level, and city officials said the partnership would allow the city to meet the new requirements.

Gahan said the partnership would be "100 percent funded by Rural Metro at no cost to the taxpayers."

"Rural Metro will be supplying the New Albany Fire Department with all medical supplies, and will also be assisting in medical training for our fire department," he said.

Private ambulance services typically are funded through billing hospitals or patients for the emergency runs they make. While Rural Metro would actually operate out of New Albany fire department buildings, it would not receive tax money for its services, according to city officials.

There are other private ambulance services that operate in Floyd County. Typically the first call is to the NAFD ambulance, but if it on another run a private ambulance company can be summoned to respond.

NAFD Chief Matt Juliot said that if the union approves the contract, the city fire department "will still be the first responders on the scene for all emergencies, and we will still be the ones responding to everyday EMS calls."

The six New Albany firefighters that operate the city ambulance would be absorbed into staffing positions to help offset overtime and additional budgetary shortfalls in the department, according to city officials.

Overtime in the department has been an issue in the past, as the union contract requires a certain number of firefighters to be on duty for each shift. If a firefighter is injured, on vacation or sick, someone has to take their place, and that leads to the accruement of overtime.

In theory, having six additional firefighters to staff the shifts should cut back on overtime totals, though an estimate of how much money could be saved hasn't been announced.

If approved, the three Rural Metro ambulances would be managed by the NAFD command staff.

Copyright 2012 - The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.