Mo. agencies quarrel on social media

By EMS1 Staff 

OSAGE COUNTY, Mo. — Osage county emergency agencies have taken to social media to hash out a quarrel that stems from training and profit margins. 

The Osage County Emergency Operations Center and 911 Dispatch Center published a response on their Facebook page stating that Osage County residents were misled "by an ambulance administrator who is concerned about making a profit," ABC 17 KMIZ reported. 

The statement was posted and signed by Osage County 911 Director Andi Rice. 

The response was to an Osage Ambulance District announcement by Joshua Krull, EMS Chief at Osage Ambulance District, in which Krull posted on social media to announce to residents that all district calls will be routed through the Gasconade County E-911 Center instead of through Osage County dispatchers.

According to the Osage dispatching center's Facebook statement, Rice claims the ambulance district has made mistakes that caused ambulances to be dispatched to the wrong address. 

"We identified several calls that were not handled properly by Osage County 911 and raised concerns related to training and inadequate staffing at the center," Krull said.

The Osage County 911 center delivers dispatching services to cover seven fire departments, two police departments, the sheriff's office and four ambulance districts. 

The Ambulance District Board of Directors convened during an emergency meeting and voted to contract the  Gasconade County 911 until the Osage County dispatch center can appropriately meet the demands of the district.