4/18/1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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l'" - APR 1 C 1989 BOOK 76 PAGE 63C 2. Permit the Fellsmere Volunteer Ambulance Service to pay a full time Squad Chief, EMT's, and drivers to staff the necessary shifts with increased contributions from the County and increased fund raising activities. 3. Amend the Fellsmere Volunteer Ambulance Service Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to exclude the Sebastian area as a primary response. zone and fund—the necessary full time paid professional staff to stabilize this service location on perpetual basis. Option #1 is not a viable alternative in that liability would be in great jeopardy and the possibility of civil penalties would be forthcoming to the County since it is the licensee. The County does not have adequate funding to continue to pay paramedics overtime to cover the number of shifts that the Squad cannot staff. The County has already paid overtime to paramedics to cover in excess of 600 hours of coverage at the two service locations. Option #2 is not recommended by the EMS Director or the Medical Director. There is simply not adequate funding within the Squad coffers to pay the anticipated costs that the Squad will incur. It was noted at the Board of Director's meeting on April 11, 1989, that some $20,000 had been generated in donations from the Fellsmere area and only $8,000 from the Sebastian area even though a large mail out had occurred in Sebastian. In any case this would be a band-aid fix and the issue would again have to be addressed in a few months when the money runs out. The proposal submitted by the Fellsthere Volunteer Ambulance Squad and attached to this report is the second proposal the EMS Director has received in the last ten days. The earlier proposal requested a 50/50 split in the costs of the payroll for the paid Chief, EMT's, and drivers. This latest proposal reflects that the Squad will pay all the payroll costs by taking money from the building and vehicle accounts to fund personnel costs. That is fine for the short term, but much work needs to be done on the current physical facility inasmuch as the structure needs to be air conditioned, electrical wiring needs to be replaced, and replacement vehicles must be planned for as well as current vehicles maintained . Option 3 seems to be the most logical solution and perpetual solution _to this continuing and recurring problem in the Sebastian response area. Budget estimates project that $147,339 would be required to implement this alternative through September 30, 1989, of which $71,389 is personnel salaries and benefits; $44,450 is for operating expenses; and $31,500 is for capital equipment . Included in the capital equipment is a used modular type ambulance which would have to be purchased. The ambulance currently in use at the Sebastian location is a county vehicle which was purchased with EMS County Award Funds and it would be retained for use by the County EMS Service at that location. The location of the service would be at the same location currently being utilized. In a prior conversation with the City Manager of Sebastian, it was communicated that the building would be available to the County should the need occur. Fellsmere Volunteer Ambulance Service has indeed made a creditable effort to provide EMS pre -hospital emergency medical transport service in the Sebastian area. There are benefits to be recognized for Fellsmere Volunteer Ambulance Service to limit their service area to the Fellsmere area and any other emergency response sector in reasonable proximity as deemed appropriate by the EMS Director and needs of the overall EMS system. This would preclude their assets from being drained for substantial personnel costs and the potential is available for them to continue a volunteer ambulance service without 50