OCH Regional Medical Center appeal to the Starkville Board of Aldermen Tuesday in a bid to keep ambulance service unified through the county as Starkville considers partnering with a private company to create an emergency medical service district.
Aldermen are considering the EMS district, the idea for which Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough presented the idea for at the board’s last meeting. Yarbrough’s presentation included a partnership with Ruston, Louisiana-based Pafford EMS, which is a private company.
OCH currently responds to all emergency medical calls within Oktibbeha County. The hospital has five ambulances, CEO Richard Hilton said, three of which are staffed 24/7. Ambulances currently dispatch from OCH.
Starkville Fire Department also responds to EMS calls within Starkville, and Yarbrough has noted the fire department often reaches a scene before ambulances because it responds from stations throughout the city, rather than from a single point.
The proposed EMS district would allow three total ambulances to be stationed at Starkville fire stations 1, 4 and 5, with the goal of reducing response times to medical calls throughout the city. The ambulances would take patients to OCH.
Should Starkville choose a private partnership for ambulance service in Starkville, city officials have said OCH could focus on responding to calls in the rural parts of the county.
OCH’s Board of Trustees discussed the issue last Tuesday during its first since Yarbrough brought it to aldermen earlier this month.
“We’re hoping they will see that maybe we do have something to offer that can keep everything intact for a unified system and not be fragmented between two systems,” Hilton said of presenting to aldermen this week. “Hopefully they can see the advantages of that, and if they do, we’ll do the best to accommodate that and make it work and satisfy some of the expectations that they have.”
Hilton declined to share details on what OCH might present to the board, without knowing who else will present at Tuesday’s board of aldermen meeting.
However, he said, the hospital is aware of the city’s expectations as far as what a partnership might look like, and will strive to meet them. He also said OCH will look to use available resources to help fund the expanded ambulance service.
OCH currently receives $200,000 from the county and $15,000 from the city to help fund its ambulance service. The county and city obtain those funds through state grants each year.
Damon Allen Dorsey, an assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, warned OCH trustees last week there’s more to consider when bringing in a new ambulance service than simply response time.
“The response time question is big, but so many times I review RFPs for counties and it’s only response times as a quality measure,” he said. “You can get somebody there fast, but I want somebody that’s good. Speed in this world, in the emergency medicine world, has been overplayed a little bit — you’ve got to have someone that’s good and qualified there.”
Michael Hunt, director of emergency services for Oktibbeha County, said the hospital also has concerns about fragmenting services between a private provider and OCH. It’s not completely clear the full effect a private partnership in Starkville would have on OCH, but hospital officials are worried it could “weaken” EMS response in general.
“Oktibbeha County needs to be the district,” Hunt said. “Oktibbeha County, Mississippi State University and the city of Starkville are all one. We should use our resources and work together on this, because it affects everyone.”
City interest
Yarbrough said he’s interested to hear what OCH has to say on Tuesday.
“This is something we can come to a partnership on and work out,” he said. “My main concern is what’s best from the citizens.
“I don’t really care who does it,” he added. “I’m very open. My goal is to have faster response times and take care of the patients.”
Ward 5 Alderman Patrick Miller, who asked to hear presentations from other potential ambulance service providers at the board’s April 17 meeting, said he’s also interested to see what OCH has to say.
“I like the idea of it staying within Oktibbeha County,” he said.
Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins said he felt Yarbrough is doing an “exceptional job” trying to ensure the fire department provides the best service it can. He, like Miller, said he’s interested in hearing from other providers.
Previous experience
Pafford operates ambulance services in a similar manner to what Starkville is considering in several other locations throughout the state.
Brandon was the first city in Mississippi to work with Pafford to institute such a service, in 2015.
Fire Chief Terry Wages, speaking to The Dispatch, said he’s been very pleased with how the arrangement has worked out for Brandon.
“We’ve had a consistent program running for all three years with very limited issues,” Wages said. “Our response times have consistently stayed below 10 minutes on a monthly average. I get a monthly review. It comes directly from Pafford, so I’m able to see real time data on a daily basis. The system has performed outstandingly since we initiated it back in 2015.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s been the most effective EMS/fire system I’ve been a part of in my career,” he later added.
Before partnering with Pafford, Brandon received ambulance service through the private company American Medical Response. Wages said AMR provided service through Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties, with ambulances responding from staging locations throughout the tri-county area.
James Morris, alderman at-large for Brandon, also spoke well of Pafford’s service.
“That’s probably the best thing we’ve ever done is change to Pafford,” he said. “We had guaranteed response times in there, and they’ve fulfilled them. It’s a great working relationship with them.”
Yarbrough has said a partnership with Pafford shouldn’t cost the city anything directly for the new ambulance service beyond some initial start-up costs, such as up to $15,000 to renovate the fire stations for additional employees.
Wages said that’s been the case in Brandon, which so far has not needed to offer any subsidies for Pafford to maintain its service.
“The thing with ambulances is it’s all dependent on what level of services you want,” he said. “Our level of service is we keep two ambulances in our fire stations. If I was to go and ask for four, well of course, they might say that’s going to cost because we don’t have enough calls to justify that many trucks.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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