Given the high cost of providing emergency services around the clock, and the shrinking reimbursement for field care, departments must overcome protectionist tendencies and be creative in the delivery of paramedicine. In this instance, three small departments pooled their resources to staff a paramedic unit to cover all three communities.
It certainly makes sense, especially in terms of dollars and cents. By having a consistent call volume, it’s likely enough to recover expenses through reimbursement, and it maintains the proficiency of the staff. Having the staff trained in other disciplines also makes them a more integral part of operations, reducing the possibility of “orphaning” EMS within the departments – which unfortunately happens more often that I would like.
I suspect there might have been a bit of politics and persuasion to make this happen, and it looks like a good fit for these departments.
Is your department looking at consolidating paramedic services?
