By Marshall White
St. Joseph News-Press
BUCHANAN COUNTY, Mo. — On Monday, residents will see Mosiac’s Heartland Paramedics’ ambulances for the last time.
At midnight, that service ends and the Regional Emergency Medical Service Authority’s Buchanan County EMS begins operations, said R.T. Turner, chairman of the REMSA board.
People will still call the same telephone numbers for service, because nothing about the basic service will change, Mr. Turner said.
The ambulances and employee shirts will have the new logo, but that should be the only change people see, said Steve Groshong, a supervisor. All the employees will still work for Heartland, and employees will be driving the same ambulances and using the same equipment from the same locations.
“At this time, the board has made no decision to change any ambulance service prices. REMSA will use the same billing company,” Mr. Turner said. “We worked diligently to obtain all the new licenses for the service and expect the transition to work smoothly.”
The first REMSA board meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Clifton Hurst Room on the first floor of the courthouse. This will be when the board formally takes over and begins working.
“Our goals include being open to the public and listening to comments,” Mr. Turner said. The board also plans to look at ways to improve response times and medical changes, which can assist in improving patient outcomes. He added that the board still needs to decide where to locate its headquarters.
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©2014 the St. Joseph News-Press (St. Joseph, Mo.)