Knoxville News-Sentinel
By Hugh G. Willett
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An aging population of baby boomers seeking access to medical services in the Knoxville area is heightening competition among ambulance companies for nonemergency medical transport services.
There is a growing need for nonemergency medical transportation based on the aging of the population and the increased desire for more frequent medical treatment, said Karen Estes, senior manager of transportation for the Community Action Committee, a state and federally funded organization that works with the Council on Aging.
Records list as many as two dozen providers of nonemergency medical transport in the Knoxville area, including Rural/Metro Ambulance Services, Professional Medical Transportation, Lifeguard Ambulance Services, First Call Ambulance, Liberty Ambulance and American Medical Response Inc., which entered the Knox County market this month.
Also listed are providers of nonemergency medical transport by air including Advanced Air Ambulance and Angel Med Flight Worldwide. The use of air transport is sometimes necessary because of critical time or distance factors related to the patients’ condition, according to Cassandra Graypor, director of media relations at Angel Med Flight in Scottsdale, Ariz. The use of the air transport service has grown along with awareness of its availability, she said.
American Medical Response, based in Greenwood Village, Colo., operates more than 4,000 ambulances in 40 states. Medical services are a powerful driver of the local economy, said Tim Suter, AMR operations manager.
AMR sees growth opportunity in Knox County, Suter said.
“Knoxville is very rich in availability of medical resources,” he said.
Those resources include doctor’s offices and clinics that generate the need for patients to travel frequently between their homes and medical facilities. A large number of these visits are nonemergency, he said. Nonemergency visits usually include prescheduled trips where the patient requires some sort of assistance not provided by services such as wheelchair vans or taxis.
Nonemergency services also include “medical standbys,” Suter said. Medical standbys usually are scheduled for special situations such as concerts and sporting events.
“It’s all about being a part of the community,” he said. “When we’re at these events, we get to know people in the community and they get to know us.”
AMR has hired 22 employees in Knoxville and plans to hire more, Suter said. All the personnel assigned to the ambulances are trained as emergency medical technicians or paramedics.
The company has four licensed vehicles and plans to add two more vehicles, he said. The vehicles are equipped to handle emergency calls as a backup to regular emergency services. Emergency ambulance services in the county are currently provided by Rural/ Metro. Rural/Metro also provides nonemergency services.
Rural/Metro has been providing emergency and nonemergency medical service to Knox County since 1985. It is the only accredited ambulance service in Tennessee, according to Dennis Rowe, Rural/Metro market general manager.
“Based on our long experience in East Tennessee, we have established great relationships with area hospitals, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, and they rely on us for service that is responsive and based on the highest medical standards,” Rowe said.
Rowe said he is not surprised that other services are moving into the nonemergency market.
“While other ambulance services have a pattern of coming and going in the nonemergency market, Rural/Metro’s stability provides health care professionals and families alike an assurance that we will be there when there is a need,” he said.
AMR plans to remain in the Knoxville market, perhaps even increasing its range of services, Suter said. When the county contract for emergency services comes up for bid again in 2013, AMR plans to try to increase its presence in the market, Suter said.
“We are already providing emergency services to McMinn County,” he said.
East Tennessee Human Resources Association is a publicly funded transportation provider that fills the niche for riders who do not need specific medical services during transportation. Founded in 1973, ETHRA provides as many as 1,500 trips per day throughout 16 East Tennessee counties, many for medically related reasons, said Mike Patterson, transportation director. According to Patterson, the aging baby boomers are driving the increasing need for medical transportation services.
ETHRA provides scheduled pickup for patients in wheelchairs but does not handle patients on gurneys or stretchers, he said. Because ETHRA is publicly funded, the organization can offer the transportation services at a low cost. A oneway ride on ETHRA costs about $3 with $1 for each additional stop.
Estes said that perhaps a more important need is for more affordable nonemergency medical transportation. At CAC the need for transportation of the elderly and low-income population is increasing faster than the funding, she said.
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