Advisory board discusses future of New Berlin's village ambulance service
NEW BERLIN – The New Berlin ambulance advisory board met Tuesday to discuss the future of the village service.
Council members from the towns of New Berlin and Columbus and trustees from the village of New Berlin were on hand to review the current deficit in the EMS budget as well as potential cooperation among the three entities.
EMS Coordinator Kenneth Wiggins reported $5,162 in revenue for January, with 41 calls from the three municipalities currently under contract with the village ambulance. He said in order to continue the ambulance service, there would need to be at least 40 calls per month.
“Finance is the biggest issue right now,” said Wiggins. “We need to increase the percent of recovery and we’ll be doing a lot better.”
Wiggins suggested the advisory board take new collection practices into consideration in order to increase revenue.
“It’s so highly regulated, it’s hard to increase revenue without more calls ... but we do have the ability to charge for other services,” he explained, citing diabetic wake-ups and minor accidents as just a few of the possibilities that could increase revenue up to $20,000.
Wiggins also suggested more ambitious hard billing practices to ensure payment. He explained that many insurance companies will not pay a third party, leading many to “get their check and instead of paying ... head down to Wal-Mart.”
“We’d bill three times before going to a collection agency,” said Wiggins. “We’ve been quoted a 50 percent recovery ... about $10,000 in additional funds.”
Finally, Wiggins suggested the current 24-hour shift be dropped to a 16-hour shift, 7 a.m.-11 p.m., which he said would “virtually eliminate over-time.” Wiggins said this would save the ambulance service approximately $45,000 a year.
The meeting was then opened up to discussion about the proposed Unadilla Valley ambulance service and the possibility of further negotiations among the three entities. New Berlin Town Supervisor Ross Iannello explained that although the not-for-profit company will continue, the possibility of working together isn’t off the table.
“We want to work together ... but it’s not going to happen with the village’s attitude that it’s village only,” said Iannello. “[UVAC] is moving forward ... an ambulance has been bought, insurance agreed on ... but we don’t preclude being able to work something out.”
Columbus Supervisor Tom Grace agreed, adding that it was “too bad a crisis had to happen to lead to this level of soul searching and repair.”
Wiggins concluded the meeting with a promise that “we are not cutting back on coverage or service, and that is the most important part.”
Council members from the towns of New Berlin and Columbus and trustees from the village of New Berlin were on hand to review the current deficit in the EMS budget as well as potential cooperation among the three entities.
EMS Coordinator Kenneth Wiggins reported $5,162 in revenue for January, with 41 calls from the three municipalities currently under contract with the village ambulance. He said in order to continue the ambulance service, there would need to be at least 40 calls per month.
“Finance is the biggest issue right now,” said Wiggins. “We need to increase the percent of recovery and we’ll be doing a lot better.”
Wiggins suggested the advisory board take new collection practices into consideration in order to increase revenue.
“It’s so highly regulated, it’s hard to increase revenue without more calls ... but we do have the ability to charge for other services,” he explained, citing diabetic wake-ups and minor accidents as just a few of the possibilities that could increase revenue up to $20,000.
Wiggins also suggested more ambitious hard billing practices to ensure payment. He explained that many insurance companies will not pay a third party, leading many to “get their check and instead of paying ... head down to Wal-Mart.”
“We’d bill three times before going to a collection agency,” said Wiggins. “We’ve been quoted a 50 percent recovery ... about $10,000 in additional funds.”
Finally, Wiggins suggested the current 24-hour shift be dropped to a 16-hour shift, 7 a.m.-11 p.m., which he said would “virtually eliminate over-time.” Wiggins said this would save the ambulance service approximately $45,000 a year.
The meeting was then opened up to discussion about the proposed Unadilla Valley ambulance service and the possibility of further negotiations among the three entities. New Berlin Town Supervisor Ross Iannello explained that although the not-for-profit company will continue, the possibility of working together isn’t off the table.
“We want to work together ... but it’s not going to happen with the village’s attitude that it’s village only,” said Iannello. “[UVAC] is moving forward ... an ambulance has been bought, insurance agreed on ... but we don’t preclude being able to work something out.”
Columbus Supervisor Tom Grace agreed, adding that it was “too bad a crisis had to happen to lead to this level of soul searching and repair.”
Wiggins concluded the meeting with a promise that “we are not cutting back on coverage or service, and that is the most important part.”
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