City drafts agreement for ambulance services with Town of Preston
NORWICH – The City of Norwich Fire Department has drafted an official ambulance service contract with the Town of Preston to provide parts of the township with fire and emergency medical transport services.
Although the Norwich Fire Department has had an ambulance agreement with the Town of Preston to provide emergency medical services since the privately owned Superior Ambulance company left the area in 2007, a written contract affirming that agreement has up to this point been a technicality that was overlooked, explained Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo.
“We have contracts with all communities outside the city that we provide ambulance protection for,” said Chawgo, noting that the city also has written contracts with the Town of Norwich, Town of North Norwich and the Town of Plymouth. “As we were recently reviewing those contracts, we found that nothing existed on paper for the Town of Preston.”
According to Chawgo, the written agreement ensures “business as usual.” Services will remain the same as will ambulance fees. Preston residents who require ambulance services, including those residing at the Preston Manor home for adults, will be billed individually, so the written contract will not have an impact on the town’s tax rate, he added.
A written contract for emergency services between a municipality and primary provider of emergency services is a requirement of the New York State Department of Health in order to bill customers for use of services. The Town of Preston contract, as well as contracts for the towns of Norwich, North Norwich and Plymouth, will be valid through 2015.
The Common Council was briefed on the issue during a Joint Committee meeting held earlier this month. Council members discussed the impending contract with Preston and what services are currently included in the billing for all townships. City Finance Director William Roberts explained that billing includes services and equipment costs. Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance companies use certain formulas and fixed rates for different services, he said, and the amount collected does not always equal the amount billed, though rates set by the city ensure that it collects the maximum amount allowed.
Although the final written ambulance services contract has yet to go before the Preston Town Board for approval, Preston EMS Captain James Dean said he expects there will not be an issue as rates and services will remain the same.
“Norwich has always covered our area,” he said, also noting that some areas of Preston are covered by Oxford Fire and EMS. “But due to some minor changes in the state Department of Health regulations, it’s good to know that we have everything in order now.”
Although the Norwich Fire Department has had an ambulance agreement with the Town of Preston to provide emergency medical services since the privately owned Superior Ambulance company left the area in 2007, a written contract affirming that agreement has up to this point been a technicality that was overlooked, explained Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo.
“We have contracts with all communities outside the city that we provide ambulance protection for,” said Chawgo, noting that the city also has written contracts with the Town of Norwich, Town of North Norwich and the Town of Plymouth. “As we were recently reviewing those contracts, we found that nothing existed on paper for the Town of Preston.”
According to Chawgo, the written agreement ensures “business as usual.” Services will remain the same as will ambulance fees. Preston residents who require ambulance services, including those residing at the Preston Manor home for adults, will be billed individually, so the written contract will not have an impact on the town’s tax rate, he added.
A written contract for emergency services between a municipality and primary provider of emergency services is a requirement of the New York State Department of Health in order to bill customers for use of services. The Town of Preston contract, as well as contracts for the towns of Norwich, North Norwich and Plymouth, will be valid through 2015.
The Common Council was briefed on the issue during a Joint Committee meeting held earlier this month. Council members discussed the impending contract with Preston and what services are currently included in the billing for all townships. City Finance Director William Roberts explained that billing includes services and equipment costs. Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance companies use certain formulas and fixed rates for different services, he said, and the amount collected does not always equal the amount billed, though rates set by the city ensure that it collects the maximum amount allowed.
Although the final written ambulance services contract has yet to go before the Preston Town Board for approval, Preston EMS Captain James Dean said he expects there will not be an issue as rates and services will remain the same.
“Norwich has always covered our area,” he said, also noting that some areas of Preston are covered by Oxford Fire and EMS. “But due to some minor changes in the state Department of Health regulations, it’s good to know that we have everything in order now.”
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