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Nicholas to stop funding emergency service provider
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By BETTY COUTANT-Staff Writer
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CARLISLE - In a move that could eventually affect certain portions of Robertson County, the Nicholas County Fiscal Court voted Tuesday not to provide further funding to American Emergency Resources.
The ambulance service addressed a joint meeting of the Robertson and Nicholas county courts at the end of January saying the service was losing money to the tune of about $10,000 per month.
That, combined with the loss of an initial investment of nearly $100,000 for facilities, drugs and personnel, is what spurred the request for additional funds outside of the original contract, AER officials said.
AER was not seeking to recover the $100,000 it lost, Dr. Tony Abano, medical director and CEO of AER said at the January meeting, but was requesting help in keeping the service going.
Abano said a flat $60,000 or $10,000 each month minus company receipts, would keep the service going until July.
The service is losing money due to insurance reimbursements which are well below the national average, Abano said at the January meeting.
The national average for ambulance run reimbursement is about 65 percent, AER has averaged only 36 percent in the first six months of operation and does not anticipate the figure will in-crease.
Abano stressed the problems were not caused by the addition of Robertson County in Sep-tember and the service is better off because of the addition of a nearly new ambulance provided by Robertson County as part of the deal.
Comments from members of both courts in January indicated neither was in the mood to provide additional funds. Robertson County Fiscal Court will vote on the subject at its next regular meeting on Feb. 21 at 9 a.m.
The ambulance service will likely not make a decision about how to proceed until after Robertson County meets, AER official Andy Wartman said.
"It is a shame to hear (the county is refusing to allocate more funds), but we will continue to provide the services," Wartman said. "We would like to hear everybody's position" before making a decision.
AER's board of directors will likely meet at the end of the month and will provide the media with a statement at that time, Wartman said.
During the January meeting, Abano predicted the board's decision would likely be "drastic."
Robertson County officials have struggled for years attempting to supply ambulance service to residents, but has been constantly plagued by the cost of such a service.
The contract for ambulance service is between only Nicholas County and AER and will expire in July. A portion of Robertson County was picked up by the service through an agreement sponsored by the state.
Nicholas County agreed to cover the southern half of Robertson County including Mount Olivet and Robertson County Health Care Facility in exchange for $5,000 per year and an ambulance valued at nearly $60,000 when Robertson County gave up its Certificate of Need.
Bracken County agreed to cover the rest of the county. |
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