By Brooke McAfee
The Evening News and the Tribune
FLOYD COUNTY, Ind. 鈥� Floyd County will receive EMS service from AmeriPro Health and Highlander Fire Protection District starting in June.
The Floyd County Commissioners approved EMS contracts with the two providers at a Tuesday meeting.
The county鈥檚 current contract with New Chapel EMS will expire at the end of the month, and the new contracts with AmeriPro and Highlander Fire will begin June 1.
The decision followed months of disagreement between county officials on which path to take for EMS service.
The option selected was a compromise combining service from a private agency and a local fire district.
Al Knable, president of the Floyd County Commissioners, said that 鈥渃hange and transition is upon us鈥� with the new contracts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not always the easiest thing in the world to deal with, and it brings a lot of emotions and a lot of uncertainty,鈥� he said.
鈥淲here we鈥檝e ended up with this compromise wasn鈥檛 my first choice, but I鈥檝e learned a lot along the way, and I鈥檓 content with the contracts that we鈥檝e signed tonight.鈥�
AmeriPro, a private contractor, will serve as the primary EMS provider for the entire county for the next seven months.
AmeriPro will offer two 24/7 ambulances and one paramedic response vehicle starting June 1.
Highlander Fire will serve as a secondary EMS service for Greenville and Lafayette townships.
In 2025 and 2026, AmeriPro will transition to partial coverage in New Albany Township, Franklin and Georgetown, while Highlander will serve as the primary provider for Lafayette and Greenville townships.
Currently, New Chapel is providing Floyd County with two ambulances and a third at peak run hours. The Floyd County Commissioners rejected New Chapel EMS鈥� bid for ambulance service in March.
The commissioners voted 2-1 for the Highlander contract with Jason Sharp voting against. The vote for the AmeriPro contract was unanimous.
The commissioners鈥� vote for the contracts followed a vote from the Floyd County Council affirming their commitment to appropriating funds for both contracts.
The council voted 7-2 in favor of this commitment with Danny Short and Connie Moon voting against.
BREAKING DOWN THE CONTRACTS
In total, the cost is roughly about $3.5 million through 2026 for service with both AmeriPro and Highlander.
This year, the AmeriPro contract will cost about $78,083 per month and Highlander Fire will cost about $33,400 per month.
In 2025 and 2026, AmeriPro will receive a monthly subsidy of $82,250 for coverage with two 24/7 ambulances.
Highlander Fire will receive a monthly subsidy of $33,400 for one 24/7 ambulance and another that would run five days a week and 10 hours a day.
VARYING OPINIONS
In February, the county鈥檚 EMS advisory board recommended that the commissioners reject bids from both New Chapel and AmeriPro and explore a proposal from Highlander Fire for ambulance service.
In March, the majority of commissioners voted to pursue negotiations with AmeriPro. However, many council members expressed hesitation for AmeriPro to serve as the primary provider and advocated for Highlander to be included in the county鈥檚 EMS plans.
Knable feels that the county鈥檚 plan 鈥渟ets up both of our service providers for success, not only for 2024...but also for 2025, 2026 and beyond.鈥�
Sharp expressed frustration with how the process has unfolded with Highlander Fire, noting concerns about the contract. He is a firefighter with the Jeffersonville Fire Department.
鈥淚鈥檓 just going to say, this is absolutely the worst contract I think I鈥檝e ever seen in regards to public service ever 鈥� from the way that it was negotiated to the language that was put in there,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nd I think the public is right to ask a few questions,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hy is it that the only person sitting up on this board who has actually worked in public safety has a problem with this?鈥�
The Highlander contract has 鈥渧ery few measurable standards鈥� for performance, Sharp said.
Regarding the AmeriPro contract, he also feels that two 24/7 ambulances are not enough to cover the entire county.
鈥淲hen it becomes more important who鈥檚 providing the service versus the level of service, it鈥檚 not about public safety anymore,鈥� Sharp said.
Floyd County Commissioner John Schellenberger voiced support for the Highlander contract.
He emphasized that this journey started several years ago with the Fitch Study, which indicated the need to improve ambulance service in areas such as response times.
鈥淭his is a compromise contract, but I think it鈥檚 good for Floyd County,鈥� Schellenberger said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to bring us much better ambulance service than what we had before.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to engage Highlander and AmeriPro, and it鈥檚 going to be a partnership between them, and I think it鈥檚 going to be a lot better coverage that we鈥檙e going to have for the residents of Floyd County .鈥�
Floyd County Councilman Dale Bagshaw said he was reluctantly voting to affirm support for funding the contracts as presented, but he was opposed to the process related to Highlander Fire being brought on board.
He said the commissioners鈥� process of considering EMS contracts was 鈥渢aken hostage by [council] members to only fund a contract that included Highlander Fire.鈥�
鈥淎meriPro was considerably higher than New Chapel, and now this hybrid EMS is higher as well,鈥� Bagshaw said.
Both Short and Moon brought up concerns about the Highlander contract.
Moon said she is 鈥渘ot confident that this is the most efficient or the most responsible option for our county.鈥�
Short said if the commissioners chose to terminate the contract with Highlander, the county would be responsible for paying Highlander the full amount.
鈥淪o I don鈥檛 see a whole lot of safeguards there if for some reason Highlander can鈥檛 perform or if the ALS certification lapses or something else should happen,鈥� Short said.
Knable emphasized that the Highlander contract was 鈥渢he contract we were able to negotiate.鈥�
鈥淭his is what we had to do in order to gain their confidence that this contract would not be altered next year or with the next election cycle,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is where they are. I鈥檓 happy with the contract as is.鈥�
Floyd County Councilman Brad Striegel noted that fire districts are an 鈥渆xtension of county government, and there鈥檚 an open line of communication.鈥�
鈥淪o I think if there鈥檚 some sort of major issue with the fire department and the service they鈥檙e providing, I think they鈥檒l probably be the ones to bring it to our attention before we even bring it to theirs.鈥�
WHAT鈥橲 NEXT?
The Floyd County Council will formally vote on funding for EMS at a special meeting, scheduled for 3 p.m. next Wednesday in the Pine View Government Center.
Striegel said the appropriation will be more than $800,000 for the rest of the year.
The two EMS contracts will not become active until the funding is appropriated, Knable said.
The Floyd County Legacy Foundation is providing $500,000 from the Floyd County Council to support this year鈥檚 EMS costs.
Floyd County officials are also seeking long-term solutions regarding both ambulance coverage and funding. The commissioners expect to establish a task force committee in June to explore the future of EMS.
It will be an 鈥渙ngoing discussion,鈥� Knable said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my anticipation that within one to two meetings of that task force, by fall we鈥檒l know whether there鈥檚 a willingness...for the departments to work together for a countywide EMS or if it鈥檚 going to be fire district-centric,鈥� he said.
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