By: Holly C. Brinda, Mayor of
Elyria
As Elyria’s Mayor, I have an obligation to make sure that
you and any other person in the city have access to high quality, timely,
affordable emergency medical care and transport to the hospital. The city can choose to provide one or both of
these services itself, or contract with a vendor. In Elyria’s case, the city chose to contract
with LifeCare Ambulance in 1996. In a
Voluntary Performance Audit by the State of Ohio this past year, it was
discovered that the LifeCare Ambulance contract has not been monitored or
updated in 17 years. To help insure
accountability, quality and affordability – my administration is currently working
with LifeCare Ambulance, as we do with all of our vendors, to provide the best
possible service to the citizens of Elyria. (As part of our due diligence process as a new
administration, all contracts in the city are being reviewed, re-negotiated or
re-bid.)
Here are the facts regarding the City of Elyria’s
negotiations with LifeCare Ambulance:
- The Brinda administration’s intent is to make a good faith effort to re-negotiate the emergency medical service contract with LifeCare Ambulance. If our negotiation efforts are successful, as we hope they will be, it will not be necessary to re-bid the contract to other outside vendors.
- We have requested LifeCare Ambulance provide information to demonstrate they are in compliance with the existing agreement. To date, they have complied with a portion of our request. We have clarified what additional information is needed for us to assure the citizens of Elyria that we are properly executing the current agreement and we are protecting citizen rights related to service, timing and billing. I would like to take this opportunity to thank LifeCare for their cooperation.
- Further, the requested information will help the city (1) create provisions for an updated or new contract; and (2) assist the city in making good decisions about how to better use the fire department first responder program. At the request of 9-1-1, we send first responder units comprised of trained EMT and paramedic firefighters, to assure that help arrives as quickly as possible in serious medical and trauma emergencies.
- A total of 70 percent of the fire department’s workload is for first responder calls and to assist LifeCare Ambulance. Given the current economic conditions, the city can no longer afford to respond to the majority of these first responder calls in costly fire trucks that consume large quantities of fuel and depreciate with each trip, not to mention the cost of medical supplies. The city’s average annual cost for this service to the public is approximately $200,000.
- It is the intent of the Brinda administration to begin to limit the use of the fire department first responder program to the most critical emergencies as a means of reducing costs. However, we can only do that once we are assured that LifeCare Ambulance has the capacity to handle the current work based on the data the city has requested and further adjustments to the contract.
- Despite what you have read in the newspaper, as Mayor I have never stated my intent is for the fire department to take over EMS from LifeCare. I do not have enough data to make that determination. The State Auditor did recommend that the City of Elyria further explore providing fire-based EMS itself to potentially generate revenue from insurance collections to off-set costs in the fire department. Similar cities have created revenue streams by doing this. The Audit also recommended exploring three other options for EMS delivery. While I agreed with the Auditor in May that the city should at least explore the costs and benefits of ALL four options outlined in the Audit, my administration has only explored the re-negotiation or re-bidding option because Elyria City Council has said it will not approve fire-based EMS.
- While the city Charter does give me the authority to make final determinations on contracts, I have and will continue to, invite members of Elyria City Council to the table to join in the discussions and provide their input relative to this matter.
The Brinda administration values all of our vendors and the
investments they have made in our city, including LifeCare. That being said, as a vendor of the city,
LifeCare has an obligation to work under the terms of the contract with the city
– and the city has an obligation to monitor and update the contract. As your new Mayor, I inherited the difficult
situation of a contract that had not been properly monitored, enforced or updated in 17 years. As your agent, I have an obligation to remedy
the situation to assure your rights are defined and enforced. My intent is to be fair, balanced and honest
in the process. If you have questions or
comments about this issue, please feel free to contact me directly (440)
326-1402.
