Gold Cross EMS will suspend ambulance service to Augusta/Richmond County as of 8 a.m. today, but Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson worked deep into the night to arrange continued ambulance service for the city.
City officials learned of Gold Cross’s plans Saturday afternoon.
Johnson said his first step after receiving notification that Gold Cross was suspending service was to notify state officials of the impending emergency.
“We have everything covered. I didn’t have to call the Governor’s Office, but I did alert the state officials that we had a crisis on our hands, and they responded,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, Central EMS, the new zone provider, immediately agreed to provide service when Gold Cross goes offline.
“If you need to call 911, there will be someone there and help will be sent out to you,” Johnson said.
Vince Brogdon, owner of Gold Cross EMS, says his company abruptly ended service because it has lost staff to the degree that schedules cannot be maintained in Richmond County.
“We survived the pandemic when people were scared to come to work, and now employees are walking off the job to go work for Central (EMT service),” Brogdon said, adding, “We looked at the schedule for Sunday, and it was impossible to staff the shift.”
According to Brogdon, Central EMS, which has been awarded the Augusta ambulance provider zone by the state health department, held a job fair on March 20 and has specifically recruited Gold Cross employees.
“They somehow had their private cell phone numbers and were calling and offering them, and I’m talking about from mechanics to to EMTs, which we helped with their education and training. They offered them jobs at two to three dollars more an hour, which is way more than I can pay with a $650,000 a year subsidy,” Brogdon said.
Central EMS has not released to the Augusta Commission any proposed monetary figures that they will accept to cover costs for indigent care and has not formed an agreement as to how many ambulances they will provide.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
