By Susan Meeker
Glenn County Transcript
GLENN COUNTY, Calif. — The Willows Public Safety Committee met Thursday with other city and county officials to come up with a strategy to overcome a possible ambulance shortage when Enloe Medical Center begins reduced services next month in Colusa County.
Glenn County officials said the reduction in services will create a ripple effect, resulting in a reduced response time as only two full-time ambulances stationed in Williams and Willows and one part-time ambulance stationed in Colusa struggle to keep up with demands for service throughout the region.
Enloe operates under contract for ambulance services in Colusa County, losing about $300,000 a year, officials said. The hospital provides services for one ambulance in Willows without a contract, which basically breaks even.
“Enloe has done a wonderful job of providing services, but they have been subsidizing services in Colusa County for a long time,” said Grinnell Norton, Glenn County public health nurse.
Glenn County Supervisor Steven Soeth said he will contact Colusa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Marshall to arrange possible talks for expanding contractual coverage, although there is a chance that going out to bid for services could result in no “bidders” willing to commit.
Willows Councilman Gary Hansen said he would talk to Orland officials and those in Williams about the possibility of a regional solution.
Willows Councilman Jim Yoder said having interagency discussions is the best approach to dealing with regional issues, but will require officials to leave their egos at the door when deciding who’s leading the charge.
“We know what the problem is,” Yoder said. “We just need the solution.”
The formation of a tax-assessment district to fund ambulance services is also a possibility, but would need two-thirds voter approval, Soeth said.
Soeth estimated a $42 assessment per parcel with a residence, similar to the tax on the landfill, would raise about $450,000 a year.
Enloe is also doing what it can to boost revenue in order to provide adequate ambulance coverage for people in Colusa County, southern Glenn County and Butte County, officials said.
The Chico-based hospital has a Ground Ambulance Membership Program, which offers a prepaid specialized health care plan that can provide medically necessary ground ambulance transportation at no cost or reduced cost when provided by Butte County EMS, Willows Ambulance or Colusa Ground Ambulance.
The Ground Ambulance Membership covers the portion of ambulance services that an insurance company or Medicare does not pay, and applies to co-insurance or deductibles for medically-necessary transports.
“For those who have a health condition or situation where there is a good chance they may need an ambulance service, an ambulance membership program like ours can provide an excellent savings for them if they do use the service,” said Enloe spokeswoman Christina Chivara. “The membership costs $100 (per family) annually.”
Chivara said some insurance plans do not cover the cost of ambulance, cover very little of it, have a very large deductible or sometimes people may have no insurance at all.
Local officials agreed that having a vital ambulance service is to the betterment of the community, and that the threat of not having an ambulance respond to an emergency is a “shock to the conscience.”
“If you need it, you want it to come,” Norton said.
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©2015 the Glenn County Transcript (Willows, Calif.)