Editor’s Note: Today, we welcome The Augusta Press’s newest columnist, John Clarke. Clarke will be commenting on public affairs and other matters. We welcome him to the TAP family.
Uber could well become the mode of transport to the emergency room since Commissioner Bobby Williams and his band of naysayers have had their say.
In a very loud and embarrassing display of total disrespect toward Mayor Garnett Johnson and certain fellow commissioners, Williams used his well-worn ace in the hole, the Abstain Button, making sure there would be no tie that the mayor could break.
Opinion
Once again, with no contract or subsidy to help keep Gold Cross afloat, the company called the EMS council and gave notice of the surrender of the zone.
One of the main points of concern for some commissioners has been response times. Let’s take a look at this issue just a bit closer. When there is a true medical emergency, it seems to the caller that it takes forever for the ambulance to arrive. This is a normal emotional reaction.
And, sometimes the response time is slower than usual. Many factors can play into this. Ambulances being called for a non-emergency are a big factor. Say Aunt Mary stepped off the stairs awkwardly and turned her ankle. An ambulance is called and takes her to the ER. Since her medical need is not a true life or death emergency, she is going to have to wait inside the ambulance while the professionals are treating someone else’s Grandma’s heart attack inside the hospital.
Meanwhile, the ambulance cannot leave until Aunt Mary is officially received by the ER. This could indeed take quite a while. This is what is called “Holding the wall,” and it happens often, but it is no fault of the service provider.
On top of that, Aunt Mary’s insurance has ruled nonpayment for a non-emergency transport. Add to that the fact Aunt Mary can’t afford to pay the ambulance bill, who’s going to pay it?
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Sean Frantom had statistics about Gold Cross on his Facebook page at one time that are well worth looking at. Anyone interested in seeing them should reach out to him.
Now, getting to the Tuesday, Jan. 24 meeting where the commissioners deadlocked again, Bobby Williams kept talking about the Gold Cross contract Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Garrett wrote. Mayor Pro TemGarrett didn’t write the contract. He and several other commissioners may have had input into the language, but the contract was put together by the city administrator and the legal department.
Mayor Pro Tem Garrett only presented the contract agenda item, which is the normal and standard way of doing business.
Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle made an excellent point in the meeting, and that was that it would cost the taxpayers an astonishing amount of money to operate the ambulance service. He is so right and on point.
After the Tuesday special called meeting, someone unofficially said it would cost the city $9.5 million to start up the ambulance service. Commissioner Williams, where would that money come from?
While it would be extremely difficult to state an exact yearly dollar amount to operate, considering the yearly payroll, fuel cost, tire cost and general maintenance costs, the bill would most likely be well over $2 million. Not to mention that the city is self-insured and would have to cover all lawsuit payouts from the city coffers. And yes, the city does indeed pay many lawsuits regarding many things.
Tuesday’s special called meeting truly showed the five commissioners who actually care and the five who may have just cost themselves favor in the taxpayer’s eyes. Only time will tell.
While fire department Chief Burden publicly states he doesn’t want the department in the ambulance business, they will be there to cover as many emergency calls as possible. Hats off to our firefighters.
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Our firefighters are truly a great group of dedicated public servants. However, with only three ambulance units to respond, most likely response times will be slower. You know who to thank for this.
While it is not my intent to bash or berate any elected official or department director, it is my intent to bring forth issues that are ongoing within this government.
Some may want to wear steel toed shoes because toes are sure to get stepped on. In the coming weeks, I will be bringing these issues to the forefront. With that being said, I will also be bringing forth other topics.
I wish to extend my thanks to the publisher, editor, staff and writers of The Augusta Press for welcoming me into their family.
John Clarke is a former Richmond County commissioner. You can reach him at johnneinow@aol.com.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Augusta Press.)
