Q Why doesn’t Newman Regional Health operate its own ambulance service for transfers? Emporia-Lyon County Ambulance Service seems to do emergency transfers from Newman to out-of-town hospitals every day. When the paramedics are on those ambulances, they’re not available for the emergency calls here in Emporia and Lyon County.
It seems a waste of taxpayer dollars to run a transfer service, when Newman has laid off nurses who could have jobs making those daily runs on the transfer ambulances.
A Beth Hammond, marketing and business development specialist at Newman, and Brandon Beck, assistant fire chief, worked together on the question and sent the following combined answer:
“Newman Regional Health operating an ambulance service would be a duplication of services for the Emporia area and would raise the overall cost to provide the service.
“According to Lyon County EMS, only two of the four ambulances are sent on out-of-town transfers at one time, leaving two ambulances in Emporia for emergencies.
“Newman Regional Health’s most critical qualifying cases are transferred by air ambulance via Midwest LifeTeam helicopter (weather pending), leaving ground transfer options available for other patients.”
• Because You Asked is for readers with questions on topics of local interest. Questions may be sent to The Emporia Gazette, Drawer C, Emporia KS 66801. Questions need to be signed, but names will not be revealed. Questions submitted anonymously will not be answered.
joecitizen (anonymous) says...
well, that and transfers add about 1 million of revenue to the general fund. the city will fight to keep that. which is why they have actively worked against a private ambulance company like AMR or MAST coming to town. Many of the Transfers out of town are NOT an emergency. Newmans ships out people so they dont have to treat them. Make the doctors come in after hours if necessary, but treat patients!! imagine all the lost revenue of at least one transfer per day (often 2) on an average of 3 day stay, at over 2k per day. doesn't take long to see why Newmans operates at a loss month after month. and then there is the lost revenue from family who come to visit sick loved ones, and eat and shop, and buy gas. If i operate a business at a loss for 3 years, the IRS considers it an expensive hobby. How long will we let Newmans dabble in healthcare, before we make them actually treat patients, or close up shop?
We need to be attracting young professional doctors, who realize that people don't only get sick between 8-5 M-F We may have a long list of doctors, with a broad spectrum of specialties, but if they would rather authorize hospital staff to transfer people out, than actually come in to see the patient, then they serve little purpose. This is where old doctors come to die, and we're tripping over tombstones.
July 17, 2010 at 3:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
The hospital would actually need to be equipped to handle these problems that are being shipped out. That is equipment and staff. They don't.
What variety of specialties do our local docs have, btw?
July 17, 2010 at 4:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
old_soldier (anonymous) says...
MAST? Good luck getting them for anything....they've been disolved, and now the KCMO Fire Department runs the ambulance.
July 17, 2010 at 8:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
papowww (anonymous) says...
Be careful what you all complain about. I have had many experiences with small town hospitals and emporia is doing well. The transports are performed to help a patient receive a more specialized level of care that most small town hospitals are unable to do. By having Emporia ems do the transfers it is throwing money back into your government. City ambulances are expensive to operate and a transfer is relatively easy money. I know most of you don’t want to increase your taxes to help with these cost. If an outside ambulance agency came into the city then the city fire dept would not have enough money to keep the personnel they have now. You will want the personnel when it’s your life that is being threatened. So either raise taxes or keep local EMS doing the transfers. I am sure the fire dept also has enough since not to send a needed ambulance on a non life threatening transfer.
July 18, 2010 at 5:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
quietmomma (anonymous) says...
I don't care if they keep having the fire station do the transfers because it does keep the taxes in check but on the same note they need to hire more paramedics they are over using the ones they have! They only have 2 per shift and its wearing them out!!! Or have some of the other guys go back to school and become paramedics!!
July 18, 2010 at 8:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
It seems these two articles should be considered together rather than separately.
http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/20...
July 18, 2010 at 1:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
They've had private company ambulance transfers in the past, one group operated out of one of the towing shops, the other at St. Mary's Hospital or Health Dept building.
They won't want anything like that now, it would cut into the air ambulance service and run them off.
July 18, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
neighbor,
According to the Lifeteam Midwest website the operate their own transfer ground ambulances in Wichita and Great Bend
http://www.lifeteam.us/service_area.php
July 18, 2010 at 5:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Maybe that's what we are leading up to here?
July 18, 2010 at 10:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )