By Frank Mustac, Contributor
Emergency medical agencies controlled by the township are looking to get reimbursed for ambulance and EMS services., Tim Lynch, vice chairman of the Hopewell Township Board of Fire Commissioners, spoke to the committee on Monday about charging fees for transporting patients to the hospital, as well as other related costs. The township committee must give formal permission to bill for services., Hopewell Township, Lynch said, is one of the few municipalities in Mercer County still providing an ambulance service., The cost of service, medication and equipment utilized by EMS units have gone up, he said, along with the growing need for ambulances and emergency response., The medications with rising price tags include EpiPens, an injection containing epinephrine for patients with severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis); and naloxone, an antidote that can rapidly reverse an overdose caused by opiate drugs., Ambulances also carry tourniquets and blood-clotting agents, as well as defibrillators, which Lynch said “are more sophisticated now, and the (defibrillator) pads cost more money.”, Lynch described the process that takes place when a Hopewell Township resident makes a 911 call from home for emergency medical services., “First, the 911 call will be referred to the Hopewell Township Police Department which will screen you to determine the services you need,” Lynch said. “They will then send a police officer to your house as a first responder.”, Once that screening ends, Lynch said the call for service will be transferred to the Mercer County Dispatch Center, which would start another screening process to determine what actions to take., “In Hopewell Township, we can provide a BLS ambulance – a basic life support ambulance – and fire department-based first-responder services, depending on what’s required. If the call requires more advanced treatment, then the county paramedics can be dispatched, which is provided by Capital Health,” Lynch said., For a Hopewell Township resident who experiences a major medical event that requires a paramedic unit ride with an ambulance from Hopewell Township to the hospital, Lynch said the resident is “going to receive a bill from Capital Health for that transportation, not just for treatment, but for the ride that we are providing. Capital Health keeps that money.”, Without a fee structure in place, Lynch said the local EMS squad ultimately does not get paid., The township committee will likely introduce an ordinance at its April 24 meeting to allow ambulance and EMS bill for service.
