NEW BERLIN – The ambulance debate rages on as the three participating entities – Town of Columbus, Town of New Berlin and Village of New Berlin – discussed options during their respective monthly meetings.
In the last three weeks, the advisory board for the village ambulance service has met three times to discuss possible cooperation between the village service (NBAS) and the newly-formed Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corp. (UVAC), a not-for-profit company.
The village advisory board, which consists of two members from each of the three entities, also focused on remedying the $75,000 debt currently plagueing the NBAS and considered numerous suggestions from Chief Operating Officer Kenneth Wiggins.
“We’ve accomplished one fundraiser and we plan on more,” said Wiggins. “But we’re also working on new ideas to add revenue ... fundraising only goes so far unless we can stop the hemorrhaging, which I’m confident we can.”
Wiggins explained that the biggest concerns regarding the debt were the switch to a 24-hour service from 12 hours – and the resulting extensive overtime – and difficulty collecting payments for service. Wiggins suggested two propositions to the board last Tuesday. The first would be that the two, full-time primary medics be switched to a salaried position, which he said would reduce the amount of overtime pay and eliminate approximately $21,000 in costs for the year.
Second, Wiggins reported he had consulted with Blue Cross and Blue Shield regarding billing and that for a 2 percent fee, all insurance checks for services would be sent directly to the NBAS, as opposed to the individuals who received the service. This, he said, would stop what he called “the Wal-Mart people” and reduce the need for hard-billing.
“They get their checks, say yipee and head right to Wal-Mart,” said Wiggins. “This way, we could receive the money, which would make 90 percent of hard-billing unnecessary.”
The UVAC board of directors has continued to set up their service, having already purchased an ambulance for $53,000.
“We’re in the process of putting everything together ... there’s plenty of steps to go through to get our license and approval from the Department of Health,” said George Coates, president of the UVAC board. “Things can’t be cheap, or you have a problem with patient care ... and we don’t want to miss a step in the process.”
Coates said although a few interested individuals have come forward, the UVAC currently has no staff, EMTs or volunteers. He explained that the rig had to be stocked and inspected before they could begin the hiring process.
“When the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the rig, we’ll be in good shape,” he said.
Coates explained his support for UVAC is born from a desire to provide a good ambulance service to the community with reduced cost to the taxpayer and greater oversight of the board.
“There would be the same level of service as with the municipal agreement ... but with certain mandated costs, including labor, removed from the equation,” he said. “We’re not doing this to be mean or put someone out of service ... but there will be far more oversight with the not-for-profit.”
Town of New Berlin Supervisor Ross Iannello said he believes the not-for-profit will be good for the area and would be more careful with raising taxes or imposing additional fees.
“There are many NFPs that are extremely successful ... it’s just a common sense thing to do in this economy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Columbus adopted a resolution last week to seek a contract with a not-for-profit ambulance company as opposed to continuing their contract with the village. The vote passed 3-2, meaning the town will seek a contract with a company fitting the criteria of a not-for-profit, presumably UVAC.
Councilwoman Susan Lafevre, who proposed the resolution, said she hopes all of the entities involved could “work together to restructure and find a way to create a financially sound ambulance service together ... but I’m discouraged by all of this negative publicity,”
Columbus Supervisor Tom Grace said forcing the village service to go out of business “is bad ethically, and bad for residents.”
“We should give them the final year of the five-year contract at least, and if we want to look at other options during that time, fine,” he said.
New Berlin Village Mayor Terry Potter said he also would like to see the three entities find a way to work together, but he’s confident in the ability and dedication of the village’s ambulance.
“At the last advisory committee there was good discussion and I’m holding out hope that we’ll all remain at the table and continue to work towards a consolidated service,” said Potter. “But right now, the one thing we can agree on is that we disagree on some key points as far as being under the civil service restrictions and guidelines ... and whether it will be run by the municipality.”
Potter added: “No matter what, we’re going to continue to provide the same great service to the community that we always have. We don’t believe there’s any problem with the service ... and we’ll continue to focus on remedying any debt in the budget.”