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Robertson will not put up additional funding for EMS
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By BETTY COUTANT-Staff Writer
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MOUNT OLIVET - Robertson County Fiscal Court Friday followed the lead of Nicholas County, voting against providing further funding to American Emergency Resources.
The company provides ambulance service to Nicholas County at a price of $48,000 per year in accordance with a contract which extends until the end of June.
Nicholas County, along with AER, agreed to provide ambulance service to portions of Robertson County in September after the county disbanded its emergency service and lost its Certificate of Need.
In exchange, Robertson County paid Nicholas County Fiscal Court $5,000 and signed over a new ambulance.
Problems emerged in January that have nothing to do with the addition of Robertson County to the service, AER officials said when they addressed a joint meeting of the two fiscal courts.
The company said it invested nearly $100,000 for improvements to facilities, purchase of drugs and equipment and hiring personnel. The company said it was not seeking to recover those funds.
Instead it was seeking to recover losses it realized when ambulance run reimbursements came in much lower than anticipated.
The national average for reimbursement is about 65 percent, Dr. Tony Abano of AER said. The service has averaged only 36 percent reimbursement in the first six months of operation, he said.
His company asked both fiscal courts to ante up more money to the tune of $60,000 total or $10,000 per month minus the amount the company is reimbursed.
Magistrates in Robertson County voted unanimously Friday to hold the service to its contract after hearing much discussion.
Magistrate Diana Poe said Abano got in touch with her and attempted to plead the company's case further.
"He said this month the shortfall would be $4,000," Poe said. "Their feelings were hurt that Nicholas County wouldn't support them."
She went on to say Abano believes there is more than meets the eye to Nicholas County's decision not to fund the service further.
"I think they believe someone in Nicholas County has it in for them. They feel like Nicholas County isn't looking at the quality of service," Poe said.
"I'm not going to go into all the stuff they uncovered, but it's not nice," Poe said.
Poe went on to say Nicholas County should have realized AER could not provide ambulance service at a cost of $48,000 when it had paid $70,000 the year before.
"Common sense would have told them that wouldn't float," Poe said.
Other fiscal court members defended Nicholas County saying it was incumbent upon the court to accept the best lowest bid.
Judge-Executive Bradley Gif-ford said he believes AER has done a good job, but should stand by its contract.
"I think they've done an excellent job. They have signed contract at that particular price," Gifford said. "If we sign a contract with someone we're going to stand by that."
Fiscal Court Clerk and PVA Karen Curtis pointed out that man hours have not increased for AER since adding Robertson County and the information provided the county by AER did not break down which county runs were in.
"I'd say if they hadn't had us they would have lost more," Curtis said.
The board that oversees AER will likely meet at the end of the month to decide how to respond to both courts decisions not to provide more money, AER official Andy Wartman said in an earlier interview.
"If they break the contract, I'm going to sue," Magistrate David Conley said. |
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