Half of town’s emergency medical needs go to CHS

Faced with a dwindling amount of rescue squad volunteers, Lawrence Township Council agreed last week to hire Capital Health System to cover half the emergency medical services.

By: Lea Kahn
   Faced with a dwindling number of trained volunteers to provide emergency medical care overnight and on the weekend, Township Council agreed last week to hire Capital Health System’s Emergency Medical Services.
   The council voted unanimously to award a $225,000 contract to CHS, which could take over in Lawrence as soon as June 1. The contract is for two years, with the option to renew for three more years. Daytime emergency medical care will continue to be provided by Lawrence Township’s four paid emergency medical technicians.
   The switch to CHS also means township residents — or their health insurance companies — will be billed for ambulance service, whether it is provided by CHS or by the township’s EMTs. There is a provision for charity care, if patients meet income guidelines. Lawrence Township currently does not charge for emergency medical care.
   Township officials will be available Monday from 6 to 7 p.m. in the manager’s conference room at the Municipal Building to provide information and answer questions regarding the plan to charge for ambulance service, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said.
   Township Council has been wrestling with the issue of providing emergency medical care since a group of volunteer EMTs quit the Lawrence Township First Aid Squad in July. The paid EMTs worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the volunteer EMTs covered overnight and weekends.
   Since the walkout, the Lawrence Township First Aid Squad’s handful of remaining volunteers has covered three nights per week. The four paid EMTs cover daytime and weekends. Township officials have hired EMTs on a per diem, or daily, basis to cover the overnight hours when the volunteer EMTs are unavailable.
   Lawrence Township First Aid Squad Chief Tony Hannawacker said Tuesday he was not surprised by the council’s decision to hire CHS, because the issue has been discussed for the past few months.
   In February, Township Council gave the green light to Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun to seek competitive bids for around-the-clock emergency medical care. Last week, Mr. Krawczun outlined the results of the bidding process.
   Mr. Krawczun told the council at its April 5 meeting that CHS was the only qualified bidder. He outlined two options to the council — one that provided around-the-clock emergency medical service by CHS, and a second that retained the township’s paid EMTs for the daytime hours and hired CHS to provide overnight and weekend coverage.
   The 2007 municipal budget has earmarked $376,000 to provide emergency medical care by the four paid EMTs, Mr. Krawczun said. He estimated that based on the second option — to keep the township’s paid EMTs and hire CHS for overnight and weekend coverage — the net cost to taxpayers would be around $264,000, after factoring in billing for ambulance service.
   Mr. Krawczun said the decision to hire CHS is not a reflection on the emergency medical care being provided — it is the reality of having to provide the service that has driven the need to hire an outside agency, he said.
   "Contrary to popular opinion at the moment, I would be the first to tell you our paid EMTs have gone above and beyond the call for providing service under the circumstances when the First Aid Squad came to us last fall and said they couldn’t do it anymore," Mr. Krawczun told Township Council.
   Mayor Gregory Puliti said he was not in favor of handing over emergency medical care to CHS around the clock. He said it would not be prudent to eliminate the township’s paid EMTs and turn everything over to CHS.
   "My concern is that we have control over everybody," Mayor Puliti said. "It’s like contracting out police service. It’s emergency services and you have to look at it that way. When an emergency comes up, it’s nice to know you have control."
   Rick Evans, one of the township’s four paid EMTs, urged Township Council to keep the current system in place. The township has been managing with the per diem EMTs who come in day after day, after working their regular jobs, he said.
   "We are here because we love the job and we love the residents," Mr. Evans said. "If you want to maintain a high level of service, you’ve got that when you keep the service in-house."
   Mayor Puliti said it is Township Council’s job to ensure that emergency medical care is provided on a consistent basis. That lack of consistency is the reason the council is discussing the possibility of hiring CHS to do the work, he said.
   After the Township Council meeting, Chief Hannawacker said he had met with township officials periodically, and they assured him there would be a role for the Lawrence Township First Aid Squad.
   "(Township officials) assured me they are not trying to push us out of the picture," Chief Hannawacker said. "We have not met as a group to discuss it. We are taking it day by day. I don’t think it will change a great deal for us after June 1. We will still ride three nights a week."