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Commissioners discuss formation of ambulance task force to evaluate fiscal and small-town service

During Monday's regular meeting, the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners discussed a proposed ambulance task force that will perform a fiscal evaluation for services provided within the county.

Currently, the county's ambulance service is provided by Emergency Response Care (ERC), which is based in Sidney and under the operation of Regional West. The service is under a three-year rolling contract with the City of Sidney and Cheyenne County.

Jason Petik, CEO of Sidney Regional Medical Center, said he had a conversation with District 3 Commissioner Philip Sanders about creating the ambulance task force for evaluation purposes.

"Not so much the services, because the people who provide that service are wonderful," Petik said. "It's just to look at it from a business perspective."

Petik said the task force would evaluate the taxes that the county, city and hospital are paying for the current ambulance service and determine whether to go with a different one.

"It's no more than making sure that we are getting the biggest bang for our buck for the taxpayers," he said.

Petik said he also had a conversation with Sidney Mayor Mark Nienhueser, and had put together a task force that included representatives from the county, city, police department, sheriff's office, hospital physicians and himself.

He said he had overstepped his bounds, however, when he wrote out a request for proposals on behalf of the city and county.

"That's my fault," Petik said. "But again, that was just to gather information, not to make any kind of decision. That would have just been information that would be presented back to the city and county."

Petik said what he was asking from the commissioners was whether they would like the task force to progress again.

"We would just like to have an understanding from all of you," he said.

Sanders said he would be all in favor of an ambulance task force, but he wanted them to look at the service from a county standpoint, not just from a financial one.

"Where you can look and make sure that the whole county is taken care of," he said. "To make sure the ambulance service is the best it can be.

"If there's nothing wrong with what we have now, then there'd be no reason to change it."

Sanders said he would also like fire chiefs and rescue captains from the smaller communities to be a part of the task force.

"Dalton made a comment to me last weekend," he said. "Potter's made a comment. We just want to make sure that we have the best service with ERC available, and if there is a problem, we want to make sure it's taken care of by working together."

The board then discussed who should head up the task force. Sanders said the decision should be up to the hospital rather than the commissioners, but District 1 Commissioner Stephen Olsen asked if an unbiased chairperson would be a better option.

"But who would better know than the city hospital of what's needed and how to form that group, Steve?" Sanders asked.

"It's just a question," Olsen replied.

District 2 Commissioner Darrell Johnson said if there are people disgruntled with the ambulance service provided by ERC, they should certainly contact the commissioners. Petik said there was not any concern about the quality of ERC's service.

"Just to make this clear," he said. "The individuals who are providing the service here in town, and who work on the crew, the physicians and the group are very, very happy with it."

Petik said again that the task force is just considering the business side of the ambulance plan. Sanders said that was why he wanted the smaller communities involved, so the needs of the county are represented as well.

"I don't want to see our ambulances disappear in these small communities," he said. "I'm never, ever going to go along with that. I just don't think that's right, and I like the setup we have with ERC. As far as when there's a dispatch, whether it's Potter, Gurley, Dalton, they're on the road."

Sanders said having available emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in the small communities is also a problem, and perhaps the task force could help get more people in those areas trained.

"Money's a big deal, but taking care of people that need help, that's the priority to me," he said.

Randy Meininger, manager of ground ambulance services at Regional West, said he agreed that having trained EMTs in the smaller communities is needed. He said Regional West is working with Western Nebraska Community College on a pilot project that will allow a majority of the training to be done online.

"So that's been a huge plus," he said. "That group is just now started to do their preceptor program, and so once we work with them a little bit, that may be one option to help with the smaller communities."

Meininger said there are also regional and national consultants that will work with city and county governments to evaluate emergency services. He said the Nebraska Department of Health and Social Services can provide an EMS assessment at no cost.

"They'll identify where your weak spots are," he said. "They'll look at communication, the level of services, the equipment, and they'll come back with some recommendations."

Meininger said ERC has been in operation since 2002, and would be open to looking at a different model if that was the decision.

"We're here to work with you," he said.

Johnson said he thinks the ambulance task force is the proper way to go, and a study would be appropriate.

County Attorney Paul Schaub said he did not oppose the continuation of the ambulance task force, but felt it would be fair to the current provider that they have a seat as well. He also said that he does not think there has been any formal declaration by the commissioners' board to have the task force in place or naming its representatives.

"So then if you want to continue down that road, then perhaps at the next regular meeting we will put that on the agenda," he said.

Sanders said the board would take a couple of weeks to digest the idea and come up with who the county wants on the task force. He said he would also like to have city officials present at the next meeting.

"We need to hear all of the opinions," he said.

Sanders said the decision for the head of the task force should come back to the commissioners for approval as well.

"To make sure there isn't some conflict," he said.

The next regular meeting of the Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners is scheduled for Monday, April 18, at 8 a.m. in the commissioners' meeting room at the county courthouse located at 1000 10th Ave. in Sidney.

 

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