A proposal to start & fund

Crawford County EMS

Crawford County Commissioners

Tim Ley
Mo Ressallat
Doug Weisenauer
Why Now?
 The Central Joint Ambulance District was
created in 2001 and has done its job - to
consolidate political entities together to
receive a fair price through negotiating
power.
 We believe that by creating a public
service, we can create a sustainable
organization that will serve our county
residents well into the future.
Why Now?
 Each time the CJAD goes out to bid, fewer
and fewer ambulance companies submit
bids. In 2018, Portsmouth Ambulance
was the only company to submit a
legitimate bid.
 The members of the CJAD currently have
no game plan going forward if nobody
were to submit a bid, or if the current
provider were to terminate the contract.
Why Now?
 Could we each make a go of it on our
own? Some could, and some could not.
By continuing to work TOGETHER, we can
keep costs down and service levels high.
 By creating a County-wide service, we can
ensure that our EMS system is viable and
sustainable for generations to come.
History
 The City of Galion was serviced by a
privately ran company until the early
2000’s when they took control of their
own system and moved it into their Fire
Department.
 The Village of Crestline has offered their
own EMS service from their Fire
Department for several decades.
History
 The City of Bucyrus, the largest member
of the CJAD, has previously considered
starting their own EMS service, but
Council currently does not feel there is
adequate funding to add more members
to the department to safely undertake the
addition, thus they voted to remain with
the CJAD for the current contract.
History
 A few members of the CJAD, some
members of the local EMS community,
local fire departments, and concerned
citizens have expressed concern for how
to be ready in the event that the CJAD is
left with no options, or at least no
affordable options.
Round Table Discussions
 A small representative group started
some round table discussions about two
years ago to explore the options available.
The idea was to do some research and
find a plan that would most suit the
demographics and economy of a county
the size of Crawford County.
Round Table Discussions
 The group studied several systems:
◦ Wyandot County
◦ Seneca County
◦ Morrow County
◦ Sandusky County
◦ Lucas County
Round Table Discussions
 After substantial research, it seemed that
the Lucas County model would best suit
our county.
 Several members of the round table
discussion group traveled to Lucas County
to meet with Commissioner Gerken, as
well as the 911 Director and EMS Director
to learn more about their system. Gerken
later returned to meet with others here.
Why the Lucas County Model
 Lucas County Commissioners contract
with existing Fire Departments and their
EMS systems. This model would allow the
City of Galion, the City of Bucyrus, and
the Village of Crestline to still be active
participants in the county EMS system.
This is a plus, since the largest
populations served are in these areas.
Why the Lucas County Model
 With this model, a tax would be collected
by the Crawford County Commissioners.
The commissioners could enter into
agreements with the City of Galion, the
City of Bucyrus, the Village of Crestline,
and potentially one volunteer department
to provide ALS personnel to staff vehicles
24/7.
System Overview
 The county would own and maintain the
vehicles and all durable medical
equipment such as heart monitors. This
would be a cost savings to the existing
departments.
System Overview
 The current leadership structures of the
departments would not change. For
instance:
◦ Galion Fire Department would potentially staff
two ALS vehicles. Those paramedics would be
under the direct control and supervision of
Chief Jackson. The commissioners would have
no authority over these paramedics, much like
the CJAD Board has no authority over the
paramedics working for the private companies
now.
System Overview
 A Medical Oversight Board would be
created to oversee the medical side of the
system. Decisions, such as which brand
heart monitors to purchase, which brand
of IV catheters do the paramedics prefer,
etc. would be handled by this board. This
board would be made up of a
representative from each department, as
well as the medical director.
Are we asking for tax money?
 Unfortunately, yes we are. But, in
exchange for the tax money collected, the
residents will get:
◦ 24/7, 365 days a year EMS coverage from an
organization that is there and ready to serve
you. In the private sector, the main focus is on
profit, while service comes second. With a
public based service, it is the other way
around.
Are we asking for tax money?
 Residents should NOT see a bill when they
use the county based service after their
insurance deductible is met. Insurance
companies will pay their allowable, and
the remainder is written off by the county.
That means that a resident may be paying
a few hundred dollars tax a year, but
should he need an ambulance, it should
cost him ZERO OUT OF POCKET.
Benefit to the Cities and Villages?
 Crestline, Galion, and Bucyrus – and
potentially a location in northern Crawford
County – would contract to provide
personnel. These entities would be
reimbursed by the county to increase
their staff so that they ensure adequate
staffing/service levels.
Benefit to the Townships?
 By pooling each entities' tax money
together, everyone receives service at a
lower price. This way, each township
does not need to rely on purchasing their
own vehicle and equipment, and does not
have to rely on continuing to recruit new
volunteer ALS trained EMS personnel.
What will it cost?

 Annual Budget = $5.14 million

 Approximately $1 million income in EMS
billing (from insurance and out of county
patients)
 Need roughly 5.32 mils collected to
balance the budget
 A $100,000 property would pay $186.20
annually ($15.52 per month)
What is the projected timeline?
 This is the first step – sharing the
proposed plan with you; the fire
departments, the trustees, the citizens.
We need your input and questions to
assure that we all work together to create
a plan that will serve us and future
generations as well.
What is the projected timeline?
 The second step would be to put a tax on
the ballot throughout the entire county. A
grass roots effort to educate everyone
from the top down to understand the
need is crucial to the success of getting
an EMS system started and in place. The
hope would be to put this on the spring
ballot in 2020, as the collection would not
start until 2021.
What is the projected timeline?
 Once the tax is passed, then next step
would be to get the contracts in place to
provide service, hire a county-wide
medical director, and assemble a medical
board to oversee what equipment is
utilized.
What is the projected timeline?
 Lining up a start date for Crawford County
EMS to coincide with the last day of the
CJAD contract (November 1, 2021) would
be the most beneficial for a seamless
transition.
What’s Next?
 YOUR INPUT is crucial. We need your
questions, concerns, and “what if’s” to
assure we build the best system together.
 We all need to be a unified team and
stand behind this plan. This is the plan
that will be there for our kid and
grandkids.
What’s Next?
 Purchase vehicles and equipment
◦ The Commissioners would purchase currently
used vehicles and equipment from existing
entities such as Bucyrus, Galion, and Crestline
to get started, and the replacement plan would
then be implemented to purchase new
equipment as needed.
What’s Next?
 Hire a Medical Director
 Hire an Administrator
 Assemble a Medical Board
 Create a protocol
 Create a communications system