News

Texas County Critical of City`s Ambulance Plans

Claire Osborn

11/20/2014

Nov. 19--GEORGETOWN _ Williamson County Commissioners on Tuesday criticized the city of Georgetown's plan to share ambulance service with the county. Georgetown has bought two ambulances and plans to hire nine firefighters trained as paramedics so the Fire Department can take patients to the hospital.

Williamson County EMS already has two ambulances based in Georgetown.

"I'm not sure I buy into that vision," Commissioner Cynthia Long said of Georgetown's plan. "Quite frankly, it's a need to justify hiring more firemen."

Commissioner Valerie Covey said the county would lose revenue by allowing the city to run its own ambulances in Georgetown. She also said "it becomes problematic as to who shows up." "How do you know who the closest unit is?" she said.

Commissioner Lisa Birkman and Williamson County Judge Dan A. Gattis said it might be better if Williamson County EMS pulled its ambulances out of Georgetown and let the Fire Department serve the entire city with ambulances.

The fact that Georgetown has already hired its own medical director instead of using Williamson County EMS Medical Director Dr. Jeff Jarvis also creates a problem, Gattis said.

"You've got one set of paramedics going under one medical director and treating this way, and another group shows up under a different protocol and a different boss. ... Our citizens are going to suffer from this," he said.

Jarvis said during the meeting that the idea of Georgetown creating its own ambulance service was "bad." "I think it fragments the system," he said.

The commissioners made no decision Tuesday, saying they planned to discuss the issue with city officials.

Georgetown Fire Chief John Sullivan, who attended the commissioners meeting, said afterward that the department was not trying to be "disruptive" but was trying to partner with the county. He said 75 percent of the calls firefighters respond to are medical.

"Georgetown taxpayers get zero for us going and Williamson County gets $400 for taking the person to the hospital," he said.

The Fire Department's ambulance service, slated to start in October 2015, is estimated to bring in $158,000 in revenue during its first year, Sullivan said.