By Paige Rentz
The Fayetteville Observer
CAPE FEAR VALLEY, N.C. — Cape Fear Valley Health System continues its westward expansion today, as it takes over ambulance service in Hoke County.
Brian Pearce, EMS director for Cape Fear Valley, said his department will staff four ambulances out of Raeford in addition to the 16 it runs during peak times in Cumberland County.
It’s a good thing Pearce and his organization are used to quick responses.
Once the Hoke County Board of Commissioners officially accepted Cape Fear Valley’s proposal, the organization only had three weeks to equip and staff another department, he said.
“The current provider did not want to extend their current contract at all,” he said.
Pearce said Cape Fear Valley has been eyeing the contract for at least three years, when the health system last submitted a proposal.
Over the past six months, his department has been making plans in case the Hoke commissioners chose their proposal, timing an order for Cumberland County ambulances so they could shift them to Hoke if necessary and alerting vendors to the possibility they may need to make some quick orders.
Pearce said the health system hired 40 people in three weeks to staff the Hoke County department and expects to add 10 more in the coming weeks.
The majority of the new employees live in Hoke and many others have a history of working in the county, he said.
Pearce stressed the local health system’s commitment to the community.
“The great part about it is it will be a coordinated effort,” Pearce said, noting that the health system will open its new Hoke hospital in several months at the site of its new Health Pavilion Hoke.
“You’ll see a lot more coordination and cooperation between the counties,” he said, adding that the ambulances are dedicated resources in each department dispatched by the respective counties’ 911 center.
Pearce said the ongoing competition between Cape Fear Valley and First Health of the Carolinas, which opened the county’s first hospital last fall, will not affect EMS operations at all.
“We’re not in it for anything other than the health care of the citizens of Hoke County,” Pearce said, noting that his department already transports patients to Moore Regional Medical Center and will transport patients to the hospital of their choice under some circumstances.
Cape Fear Valley will be the fourth company to run the ambulance service since County Manager Tim Johnson joined the administration six years ago.
The other three companies that submitted proposals have all held the contract, he said.
But what really set Cape Fear Valley apart was cost.
Cape Fear Valley proposed a $549,000 yearly stipend from the county in addition to what it bills for their services, Johnson said. That’s less than Med1’s previous contract of $595,000 and far less than their new proposal of $875,000.
The other proposals, from American Medical Response and FirstHealth of the Carolinas, came in at $1.1 million and $785,000, respectively.
When compared to its nearest competitor, Johns son said, Cape Fear Valley “was still $236,000 cheaper, which is quite a bit when you’re talking about a county the size of Hoke.”