Staff writer
Rice County EMS director and consultant Terry David met with commissioners Monday to discuss various issues confronting the ambulance service.
David highlighted the number of transport refusals in the county this past year.
Marion County had 199 refusals for 2015 through November. David said he felt that number was good, as it was lower than his in Rice County.
“I would tell you Sedgwick County last year in 2014 had 50 patients responsible for around 1200 calls,” David said.
David suggested an option of having another service for those who use EMS and emergency services for their sole medical needs.
David said that if some medical insurances won’t pay the bills of people that EMS visit, his EMS team normally will say to patients “We’ll be happy to transport you but there’s a strong possibility that (your insurance would be denied) so we don’t necessarily think you need us to take you, but we’d be happy to do it.”
“It’s a very scary scenario,” Chairman Dan Holub said, “because since people started running that, now they don’t even have to go wait in line, they just call the ambulance and they can refuse transport.”
Commissioner Randy Dallke reminded David and Holub that more than two calls to EMS within six months would result in a person being charged a fee for services.
“Yeah, we do that as well,” David said, “but we’re a little more liberal than that.”
David told commissioners he plans on meeting with hospital directors of nursing next week to get feedback on EMS, and he already has a prediction for the outcome.
“I know what they’ll tell me already, cause I hear it all the time,” David said. “It’s that transfers are their biggest griefs.”