By Cheryl Schweizer
Columbia Basin Herald
QUINCY, Wash. — While there are challenges ahead, there are options to reinforce emergency medical response in the Quincy area. In some ways, the Quincy Valley is fortunate because EMS agencies are willing to — and do — work together. Those were the conclusions of a study commissioned by emergency response agencies and the city of Quincy. Grant County Fire District 3 Chief David Durfee said the results provided some options to help strengthen EMS services.
“In such a volatile system, we have to be prepared for whatever comes our way,” Durfee said.
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Both GCFD 3 and the city of Quincy contract with Columbia EMS, a private emergency medical services provider. Eric Nickel, senior consultant for Fitch & Associates and who conducted the study, made recommendations he said would help strengthen EMS, including making short- and long-term plans for EMS if Columbia EMS or any future business leaves the Quincy Valley. Fire district and city officials should think about building an ambulance transport system over time as funding is available, he said.
City and GCFD officials should include some benchmarks in future contracts with an EMS business, detailing additional service levels, performance expectations and data collection requirements. Fire District 3 has an EMS levy to help pay its portion of the contract, and Nickel said GCFD 3 officials should think about raising that over time.
The report included an analysis of the different types of calls GCFD 3 receives.
“This is very similar to what we see with a lot of fire agencies, where between about two-thirds and three-quarters of the calls for service are EMS calls,” he said. “You’re on the lower end of this — about two-thirds are EMS calls.”
Of the people who need EMS response in Grant County, about 41% are insured through Medicaid, Nickel said. About 29% are Medicare patients. The rest have other forms of insurance, or don’t have any.
Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement is less than most Grant County EMS providers charge. Washington law places limits on the ability of EMS providers to recover the difference, Nickel said. Some federal funding was available for public agencies to help fill the gap, but most of that money will be eliminated by 2027.
The EMS partners in Quincy should use the time between now and 2027 to work on strengthening the system, Nickel said.
“His advice was to have a backup to the system, but do this in incremental steps,” Durfee said. “There are things that don’t cost a lot of money.”
The cooperation between the public and private partners puts Quincy in a better position than a lot of cities, counties and rural areas, Nickel said.
“The level of collaboration I have seen, both during my visit in April and right now, is very admirable. I think the reason for the collaboration I’m seeing here is that you all realize there’s a problem and you all have a vested interest in working together,” he said.
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