Ambulance Service Going Bust, City Considers Taking OverPOSTED: September 29, 2009 at 10:20 pm BY: Administrator |
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Salt Lake City Utah is facing a difficult decision after their ambulance service contractor Southwest Ambulance said they are losing money. They plan to renegotiate before renewing the contract that expires in December.
So Salt Lake is proposing that the Fire Department provide 911 service. Right now the city cannot afford the services. It could be an additional $300,000 a year in a year when the city is cutting budgets. It could take a few years before the city can do that.
Southwest hopes to break even. To do that they might have to cut a part in the current bill that "requires ambulance companies to reimburse city fire departments for their paramedic services."
Their competitor Gold Cross holds the exclusive rights to transport patients from hospital to hospital, and that part of emergency care makes money.
The benefit? Centralizing all 911 service to one dispatch and allow paramedics-in-training to become firefighters. In case the deal doesn't pass, the city has a backup provider.
