Gold Cross EMS has found itself to be one of the hottest political potatoes of the past year, but officials say that despite the challenges, they are prepared for a potentially busy holiday season.
“The holidays themselves are usually quiet, which is good since hospitals have less staff. It is the days leading up to the holidays with more traffic that can be busy,” Steven Vincent, vice president of Gold Cross, said.
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Extra traffic means more automobile accidents that put an extra strain on arrival times during a time when Covid cases are spiking again, Vincent says.
Several people, who asked not to be identified, complained of slow ambulance service in the outlying areas during the Thanksgiving holiday. In response, Vincent says that there are only so many ambulances and EMTs to go around, especially during peak call times.
It simply takes longer for an ambulance to arrive in the outer edges of the county, depending on the time of day.
Even if Gold Cross attempted to add more ambulances to its fleet, the supply chain issues that have plagued the nation for years continue to hamper any effort to obtain specialized vehicles.
“The current wait time for a vehicle is two years. We did put in an order last January, and we will still have to wait at least another year for them to be delivered,” Vincent said.
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According to Vincent, the main problem the company faces is not an ambulance shortage, but rather people calling 911 and requesting an ambulance when there is no real emergency. The company receives around 100 ambulance requests on a routine day, and over 130 requests on a busy day. A large number of those are situations where an ambulance is not needed.
“People know that if they complain of chest pains, we have to come immediately, and there are times when our crew arrives and the person only wants them to adjust the temperature setting for them,” Vincent said.
Other times, Vincent says the person calls the ambulance and upon arrival decides they do not want to be transported to the hospital after all. Such scenarios happen every day.
Funding is still an issue for the company that receives $650,000 a year in government subsidies provided in the memorandum of understanding that was agreed upon when gas prices were $2.49 a gallon, Vincent says. The Augusta Commission did not adjust any of the figures when gas began to soar as high as $5.50 a gallon.
“We get the same amount of subsidy from Jefferson County and they only require two ambulances,” Vincent said.
Over the past year, commissioners have wavered back and forth over the details of a formal contract with no final results. During the negotiations, District 8 Commissioner Brandon Garrett attempted to secure some relief for Gold Cross EMS through American Rescue Plan funding, but those attempts were stymied by a coalition led by (soon to be former) District 6 Commissioner Ben Hasan.
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Of the $82 million in ARP funding, the fire department, land bank, Riverwalk, Augusta Boxing Club and Mayor Hardie Davis’ anti-gun initiative in the form of flock cameras all received money. Gold Cross EMS was not among the recipients.
Gold Cross EMS’ biggest adversaries on the commission are no longer on the panel. Hasan and District 2 Commissioner Dennis Williams are term-limited out, and District 4 Commissioner Sammie Sias was found guilty of federal charges in July.
According to his voting record so far, Sias’ replacement, Alvin Mason, who recently won the District 4 seat on his own, seems to be more amenable to dialogue with the ambulance provider.
Vincent says that he hopes having new members on the commission and a new mayor this coming year will mean his company can finally negotiate a contract everyone is pleased with.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
