By John Marks
The Herald
Piedmont Medical Center has a plan to take over River Hills /Lake Wylie EMS, turning a new chapter for the decades-old community service outfit.
The Lake Wylie ambulance service reached out to both Piedmont and Atrium Health to see if either would be interested in assuming control, said board member and operations director Dick Mann. Piedmont responded, he said, while it didn’t seem like anything would happen quickly with Atrium.
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Piedmont and Atrium have been jockeying for position in York County, from debate in March on which provider should take over the Fort Mill EMS coverage area to Atrium’s decision this month to build a hospital in Fort Mill by 2029.
Piedmont will take over the Lake Wylie group in January. Some details are still being determined that could impact the sale price, Mann said. The agreement guarantees an ambulance will be stationed in Lake Wylie, he said.
In a statement to The Herald, Piedmont confirmed the hospital system is working to acquire the Lake Wylie service. “Both organizations have collaborated for months toward a shared goal: sustaining EMS services in the River Hills and Lake Wylie communities so residents continue to have fast, reliable access to the highest quality care,” it said.
Mann’s group reached out after hearing Atrium intended to buy Fort Mill EMS last spring. York County allowed Atrium to take over that agency’s 911 response coverage area, despite pleas from Piedmont to assume it. The Lake Wylie service opted for the sale due to conditions impacting small emergency response groups nationwide, Mann said.
“It’s known as money,” he said. “And the problem, very candidly, is a private service cannot charge enough money to cover its expenses.” History of Lake Wylie EMS service
The Lake Wylie ambulance service has gone by several names since its first call in 1980. The River Hills subdivision was an outpost then, and it took the Clover Rescue Squad up to 30 minutes to get there. Mann and other community volunteers set up their own volunteer agency.
“We managed for probably the first 20 to 25 years to exist solely on donations, because we did not have any paid employees,” he said. “But over the last 20 years, we’ve been forced to add one employee, two employees.”
Today, there are 25 employees. Many work in Lake Wylie during their off time from other paid agencies, since Lake Wylie hasn’t been able to offer benefits. The move to Piedmont will help with pay and benefits, Mann said.
The group that started with seed money from the River Hills Lions Club has a long history of funding drives to make ends meet. Last year there was a push that raised $250,000. Without it, the squad might not have made it this far to partner with Piedmont.
“We never can break even,” Mann said. “We’re always running just a little bit behind.”
Piedmont will get the agency’s assets and employ its workers. Ambulances still will be branded as River Hills /Lake Wylie EMS, but will add Piedmont or Tenet Health logos.
Details still to be determined include whether Piedmont will take over the ambulance station at the front gate of the River Hills neighborhood.
For many years, the all-volunteer group transported patients to hospitals without charging them. They later started working with insurance to recoup some costs, but didn’t charge patients directly. The shift to Piedmont is difficult for a community group that was founded by neighbors and grew up with the Lake Wylie community.
“You hate to see this happen, but you know it has to happen,” Mann said. “We just can’t keep going the way it is.” Ambulance service and a new hospital
Piedmont has operated most of York County’s ambulance service for more than 40 years. Last year, the system with hospitals in Rock Hill and Fort Mill responded to more than 32,000 calls and transported 22,500 patients.
Fort Mill EMS responded to 4,100 calls and transported 2,600 patients last year. Piedmont argued this spring that it should get the Fort Mill EMS coverage area if that group wanted to sell, and that it would be unusual for an out-of-state medical provider to run ambulances without a hospital in the county.
This month, Atrium approved $450 million plans for a hospital and medical office building in Fort Mill.
The Lake Wylie ambulance service responded to about 1,500 calls last year. At the height of COVID, the figure was more than 2,400 calls a year. The agency would’ve responded to more based on geography, Mann said, but didn’t always have a paramedic on the truck to meet county response requirements.
A key to the agreement with Piedmont is the guarantee that an ambulance will be stationed in Lake Wylie. So if it isn’t on a call, it will be available to meet the emergency needs volunteers and neighbors envisioned more than 40 years ago.
“This is not going to set the area back,” Mann said.
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