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Medshore CEO: AnMed Not Best Choice for S.C.`s EMS Needs

Nikie Mayo

April 05--The CEO of Medshore Ambulance Service told a crowd Monday that he believes AnMed Health is not the best choice to answer all of Anderson County's calls for emergency medical services that require ambulances.

Greg Shore, the leader of Medshore, said Monday that he had done his best to make sure AnMed didn't want to "get into the ambulance business," but he believes officials with the hospital system will have a pitch ready for Anderson County as soon as an ongoing study of rescue squads is finished.

"I don't believe that AnMed has the ambulance experience that the existing providers have," Shore said, addressing the 1st Monday Club of Anderson. "I'd like to see all the stakeholders around the same table, trying to figure out what is best."

Right now, when a person calls 911 with a medical emergency, the ambulance sent to that person will either be from Medshore, which is a private company, or it will come from one of several nonprofit squads that have contracts with Anderson County.

But an investigation last year revealed that Williamston Emergency Medical Services was operating with major debt and would close. Other small squads also had significant financial struggles, prompting the Anderson County Council to commission a study of all the squads. County officials say the goal of the study is to determine how emergency medical services can be most effectively provided in the future.

Representatives of AnMed Health Medical Center, which is part of the hospital system, confirmed in September that they began formulating a plan months ago outlining what the hospital would need to do to handle all Anderson County's calls for emergency medical services.

But they said then they did so because Anderson County officials asked if the hospital would be interested in participating in a unified EMS system. AnMed employees David Cothran and Paul Hubbard said months ago that they created an EMS plan and presented it to the hospital's executive committee, but the plan had not been submitted to Anderson County.

AnMed spokesman Ross Norton issued a prepared statement Monday when asked about the hospital system's involvement in EMS plans.

"We remain willing to speak to the county about how we can assist in improving Anderson County's EMS system," Norton said. "Otherwise, we will wait on the county's study to be completed. We look forward to seeing what the recommendations are."

The county normally pays nonprofit rescue squads in Belton, Honea Path, Iva, Pelzer, Pendleton, Townville and Williamston and Medshore a total of $4 million annually to handle emergency calls throughout the county. After officials determined that Williamston Emergency Medical Services was operating at least $300,000 in debt and could not make payroll, the county entered a contract with Medshore to provide temporary service in the town.

The county has awarded Missouri-based Fitch & Associates an $83,000 contract to conduct an analysis of the county's existing emergency medical services. County Administrator Rusty Burns said he thinks the firm's consultants are "90 percent done" with interviewing people from Medshore and the nonprofit squads and have also gathered most records from the squads.

"We've been told that this is one of the most extensive looks that they have ever taken at any EMS system," Burns said. "We have been told they have never studied a system before that has this many providers of EMS care."

Burns said he expects Fitch & Associates will issue its analysis and recommendations in two to three months.

Follow Nikie Mayo on Twitter @NikieMayo

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