By Kristi Miller
Pioneer Press
COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. — The Cottage Grove City Council voted unanimously last week to stop providing emergency medical services to St. Paul Park and Newport, citing rising healthcare costs and increased need for services as communities have grown.
The City Council voted to continue services to Grey Cloud Island , Mayor Myron Bailey said in a Facebook post.
| EARLIER: Minn. mayor presses neighboring communities to help fund EMS or lose coverage
Last year, the mayor said he had reached out to his fellow city leaders to ask that they contribute toward EMS to the tune of $51,734 for St. Paul Park , $49,064 for Newport and $7,000 for Grey Cloud Island Township. He also said if the other cities would not contribute, Cottage Grove would consider handing the territory over to someone else who might not be able to provide as prompt service.
The next step is approval by the state’s Office of Emergency Medical Services to modify Cottage Grove EMS’s primary service area. Once that happens, Fairview EMS will provide service for the cities of Newport and St. Paul Park, potentially beginning as soon as Sept. 1.
The primary service area is set by state law and determines which public or private ambulance provider serves each area.
Bailey said residents of Cottage Grove have been subsidizing the costs for neighboring communities, who have “had to pay nothing” for the service.
“Under this proposal, Cottage Grove residents would no longer be providing that subsidy,” he wrote.
He said budget issues and the rising cost of healthcare with “insufficient reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid” are problems communities across the country are facing.
“This proposal is our city’s best long-term sustainable solution,” he wrote.
Cottage Grove said Fairview has agreed to take over the EMS services.
In November, Newport Mayor Laurie Elliott told the Pioneer Press that the situation was complex and nuanced and that her city’s position was that “management and operations of EMS fall under Cottage Grove’s direction and authority.”
The Newport city website said this week that it anticipates the EMS change will be approved by the state.
“Residents can expect the same high level of emergency medical care with response times anticipated to be comparable to, or better than, those currently experienced,” the post said, noting that Fairview EMS operates from a station the same distance away as Cottage Grove’s station is.
“They routinely have ambulances on standby throughout their service area. M Health Fairview is part of one of the region’s largest healthcare systems with extensive resources and advanced medical support,” the Newport statement said.
St. Paul Park Mayor Keith Franke told the Pioneer Press in November that while his city was sympathetic to Cottage Grove’s concerns, Cottage Grove was the one that initiated providing coverage for St. Paul Park originally.
St. Paul Park said in a Facebook post last month that it was prepared for the possibility that Cottage Grove would discontinue EMS service: “The city has a robust plan for engagement with the new PSA provider.”
“ St. Paul Park has made our buildings available to Fairview EMS staff for rest breaks or report writing areas as may be desired, and our first responders are in the process of switching over to Fairview for medical director guidance and protocol,” City Administrator Hugo McPhee said, noting that all police officers are certified as emergency medical responders and some have emergency medical technician certification.
In addition, he said, all fire and police responders will undergo EMT certification this fall to “further bolster our ability to support critical care needs.”
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