David May
Mineral Wells Index, Texas
MINERAL WELLS, Texas — Representatives of Possum Kingdom East EMS deny they are running “rogue,” saying they are within their rights under state law to answer medical calls and transport patients through private agreements or direct personal contacts.
Several people spoke Monday to the Index in response to a Sacred Cross EMS official last week asking Palo Pinto County commissioners to look into the volunteer service’s activities that admittedly involve making ambulance calls to a boy scout camp under a services agreement. At least one of those calls involved transporting a patient to an area hospital. A Sacred Cross EMS official said they a hospital told of PK East EMS making “multiple” transports.
Sacred Cross EMS holds the 911 emergency medical services contract with emergency Services District No. 1 and the county at a cost of $650,000 annually, providing three ambulances serving the district, staffed to answer 911 calls 24/7.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Possum Kingdom Lake Fire and Ambulance Service is a currently licensed emergency medical service provider. A letter provided by PK Lake East Fire and EMS board president Dale Marsh from Andrew Cargile, North Texas EMS specialist for TDSHS, states the volunteer service is “authorized to transport patients within the State of Texas to emergency facilities” in compliance with any applicable county or city ordinances.
Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for TDSHS, said if an organization is licensed as an EMS provider,the state puts no restrictions on their services, including answering medical calls and transporting patients.
“As far as we are concerned, a licensed provider can provide those services,” Van Deusen said. “We don’t typically put any kinds of restrictions on them from our end.”
Speaking on behalf of PK East EMS, attorney Mike Sheehan said the organization has not received or responded to any 911 calls since the county’s contract with Sacred Cross EMS took effect. ESD No. 1 terminated its agreements and funding support for the county’s volunteer EMS organizations. 911 medical calls in the county go to the Palo Pinto County Sheriff’s Office and those within ESD No. 1 are dispatched to Sacred Cross EMS.
“Nobody has been rogue,” Sheehan said, referring to comments from a Sacred Cross representative carried in an article published Saturday. “There is nothing PK East can do to violate the (911) contract. They are not a party to the contract. The only people that can violate a contract are the parties to a contract. It is clearly a contract for 911 service. It is not a contract all medical transports. It is not a contract for all emergency transports. They are getting exactly what they contracted for.”
Sacred Cross EMS officials pointed to a letter on Possum Kingdom Lake Fire and Ambulance Service letterhead from its EMS director Tina Ulbrich addressed to the YMCA’s Camp Grady Spruce regarding an agreement to use PK East EMS for any medical calls, instructing them how to contact the organization directly. It is similar to an agreement PK East EMS has had with the boy scout camp at Camp Constantine.
“It was a stand alone letter agreement, it did not go out to everybody,” Sheehan said.
PK East Fire and EMS board president Dale Marsh said the organization has had agreements with the two camps in the past. He said after Sacred Cross EMS contacted the YMCA camp earlier this summer its officials decided they would call 911 for any emergencies. The boy scout camp continued to directly contact PK East EMS for medical assistance, and a handful of calls have made there this summer, including at least one transport of a patient to a hospital.
Marsh said the issue began to stir prior to this year’s Red Bull Cliff Diving Championships at PK Lake. In prior years the event entered into a $5,500 agreement with PK East EMS to staff the event. He said Sacred Cross intervened this year and ultimately PK East EMS decided to withdraw its proposal.
“They got so much misinformation between the county and Sacred Cross that (Red Bull) ended up cancelling with us and went with Sacred Cross,” Marsh said. “This event is way too important for this county because it brings in a lot of money. I said go with them. Don’t worry about it. I want to make sure they continue to come back. That is huge for us.”
Sheehan said he and board members have been trying to work with ESD No. 1 board members and their attorneys, as well as with Sacred Cross officials, to work through questions and concerns regarding PK East EMS and its operations.
“We are trying to do what is right,” Sheehan said. “If we are doing something wrong, then ESD tell us. If we are doing something wrong, Sacred Cross tell us. If we are doing something wrong, the state tell us. We don’t want to do anything wrong. We are about as above board as we can possibly be.”
Marsh and a group of PK Lake east citizens last week presented county commissioners with a petition to create ESD No. 4, using the PK East Fire and EMS service boundary. County commissioners have set an Aug. 13 public hearing date and will determine whether to place the item on the November ballot. If approved by voters, ESD No. 4 would have its own board of directors and could contract for its own 911 EMS service through PK East EMS, Sacred Cross EMS or another provider.
Ulbrich said PK East EMS has 14 active volunteers, of which five are paramedics. It has an EMS training center, and its EMS operates separately from the PK East volunteer fire service.
PK East EMS does not bill for ambulance transports, said board secretary Patty Reding.
“They (Sacred Cross EMS) are a corporation. We are a non-profit,” said Reding. “It is two different entities. We are not out to make the buck. We are out to serve the community.”
Marsh said the board recently began discussions about charging for medical transports.
“We haven’t billed in the past,” he said. “We have talked about it and actually got a company involved. With all the changes that have happened we have seen that we may have to start doing that.”
Marsh said the state is aware of the situation.
“I have talked to the state two or three times,” he said. “They know exactly what is going on up here and they are perfectly comfortable with it.”
ESD No. 1 board member Mike Henderson said PK East EMS might be within their rights to take and respond to direct calls for medical service, but he believes it is a bad practice and encourages residents to always call 911 for help.
“We advocate calling 911 because the world knows to call 911,” Henderson said. “It opens up the door for miscommunications, misdialing, things that could delay a call. The underlying concern, the main concern, is the call should be routed to 911 if it is an emergency.”
Henderson agrees that people or organizations like youth camps can choose not to call 911 for medical help.
“They can call whoever they want obviously,” he said. “But 911 has safeguards and fail safes built into it. It’s a national system. It’s proven and it’s the best thing we’ve got. I am not saying one service is better than another, but I am saying one system is better than the other, and that is the system of 911.”
Henderson said to his knowledge no one is questioning PK East EMS’ license or abilities to make non-911 ambulance calls or transports. Because of the new contract with Sacred Cross EMS, he said there are issues and areas of understanding to be resolved.
“This whole EMS thing has been volatile,” Henderson said. “There has always been contention about who has authority to do what. We are just trying to manage the 911 system in the county that we have responsibility for. We don’t want any confusion. Sacred Cross is extremely mission focused. We don’t want anyone falling through the cracks.”
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