Milam County’s ambulance service, or as one speaker at Monday’s commissioners court meeting called it “lack of service,” took center stage during a discussion of the existing contract with AMR.
“I am here to talk about ambulance availability or lack there of,” said Bill Whitmire.
He praised the ambulance staffers, saying they do a great job, but the problem is availability.
Herbie Vaughan, the chief of the Rockdale Volunteer Fire Department agreed.
“We are having issues with AMR responses. There has been numerous times we have been at what they call level 0 which means no ambulances in the county whatsoever,” he said.
He said some times volunteers have to transport people in personal vehicles, which, he said, is not a proper option.
“We can’t accept this, it is not good for our public,” Vaughan said.
Whitmire said he has done the math and feels the county could add two more ambulances for around $240,000.
“There’s got to be money there,” he said referring to the county budget.
“We need more ambulances,” he said. “We are losing people.”
He said one possible solution would be the creation of an Emergency Management Service District.
“We can make an EMS district here in Milam County,” he said. “We don’t need a task force, we don’t need a letter. What we need is quite honestly action. We need something done on this and we need it done today.”
Currently the county is operating under a contract with AMR that runs until Dec. 31, 2024, Milam County Judge Steve Young pointed out.
He noted that AMR is not fulfilling its contract, however. The contract calls for backup ambulances to the three currently housed in Rockdale, Milano and Cameron.
“We don’t have that, but it’s in the contract,” Young said.
AMR has told the judge that there is a paramedic shortage, but the judge told AMR in a letter he sent out Friday that is not the county’s problem.
“We could terminate the contract with AMR. We could do it today, if the mayors and county said we are going to terminate this thing. We have an automatic out,” Young said.
But he reminded commissioners of long-ago advice from his mother.
“My mother used to say, ‘Don’t jump out of the frying pan into the fire’,” he said. “We don’t have anybody beating down the door to come here to provide ambulance service.”
The judge noted that the county could create a taxing entity such as the emergency service district.
There will be folks who would go along with paying a new tax to provide a service, but there would be those who say no don’t raise taxes, find the money from an already stretched county budget, he said, noting the measure could be put on the November ballot.
Young said Tuesday that he had heard from AMR in response to the letter he sent last week.
“We plan to meet on Monday at 1 p.m. to see if we can get some resolution. It seems like they simply must comply with the contract,” he said
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.