HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93010_0548 (2)IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
BRIEFING MINUTES
OCTOBER 2. 2001
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Briefing Session on Tuesday,
October 2, 2001, at 5:00 p.m., in the Iredell County Government Center, 200 South
Center Street, Statesville, NC.
Present: Chairman Sara Haire Tice
Vice Chairman Steve D. Johnson
Tommy E. Bowles
Karen B. Ray
R. Godfrey Williams
Staff Present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, Finance Director Susan
Blumenstein, Planning Supervisor Ron Smith, EMS Director Tracy Jackson, Fire
Marshal Chuck Gallyon, Purchasing Agent Evie Caldwell, and Clerk to the Board Jean
Moore.
CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice.
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL. FOR THE
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) DEPARTMENT: Dr. Steven G.
Folstad, the medical director for the EMS Department, joined Tracy Jackson, the
department head for EMS, to explain this request for additional personnel. Mr. Jackson
said the medical community had concerns about out -of -county transports. He said the
Iredell County Audit Review Committee met recently and agreed that a balance needed
to be reached between dedicating enough EMS resources for out -of -county patient
transfers while maintaining adequate coverage within the county. Jackson said the
committee had made the following recommendations.
1. Refer non -emergency, routine patient transfers to other ambulance service providers.
Utilize EMS for only life -or -death patient transfers.
2. Streamline the process for requesting an emergency patient transfer.
3. Institute a review process that will monitor policy compliance and reduce avoidable
transfer delays.
4. Establish a minimum number of units that will be allowed out -of -county at any
given time, but allow the on -duty EMS Operations Supervisor the discretion to send
additional units out -of -county during non -peak hours.
5. Request additional personnel and resources for EMS so that more than one ambulance
could be sent out -of -county without jeopardizing in -county EMS coverage.
Mr. Jackson said the following three options were being offered for
consideration.
OPTION i
Add six (6) full-time EMT -Paramedics and an additional ambulance in order to improve
unit availability and response coverage.
Cost: $285,037.
OPTION 2
Add three (3) full-time EMT -Paramedics in order to improve unit availability and
response coverage.
Cost $91,081
OPTION 3
Provide enough par -time coverage to insure that a QRV will be staffed around the clock
in order to improve unit availability and response coverage.
Cost: $105,653
Commissioner Williams asked if any contracted services were available for the
transports.