03/28/2024
County Board of Commissioners and Staff
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County Board of Commissioners and StaffBladen County Commissioners met in regular session Monday evening.
Emergency Medical issues were brought before the board by EMS Chief David Howell.  Howell was responding to several recent meetings where the service was discussed.  Response time, personnel and less assistance from local rescue squads were some of the major issues.
Howell presented two proposals that he said would assist in meeting the stated Mission of EMS,  “To provide Bladen County with professional and efficient patient care in a responsible and timely manner.”
The purpose of the meeting was for:
*A review of coverage areas
*Proposed staffing and coverage needs
*EMS response time to cold and hot calls
*Part-time minimum hour policy.
Howell listed the county EMS responsibilities:
*911 response at the paramedic level also covering volunteer areas when no coverage is available,
*Non-emergency transports
*Stand-by coverage of special events
*MCI response and disaster preparedness
He presented daytime and nighttime maps with response time in the range of 15 to 18 minutes….plus areas where that was not possible in that  acceptable time frame.
The problem is full-time EMS personnel.  He pointed out that the Clarkton Rescue Squad has not provided service for several months, primarily due to shortage of personnel.  Bladenboro does provide additional coverage at night, however they cannot add any additional services.  Elizabethtown cannot provide any additional coverage due to shortage of personnel and other squads are also limited or out of business.
The Chief proposed two options, both requiring adding personnel.  He suggested one proposal now and another later in the fiscal year. After some discussion Howell and the some of the commissioners determined, with just one of the request, they could not meet the goals referred in their Mission statement.
Recommendation #1 would add an additional unit (4 employees) at night with certification, at a cost of $150,764.  Recommendation #2 included an additional staff for the day shift that included 3 additional fulltime personnel at a cost of another $104,644.
Other problems discussed included pay for current part-time help is less than adjoining counties, however, if the current rate for part-time help is increased, it become competitive with full-time workers.  And, as Chief Howell suggested, the entire pay structure needs to be re-evaluated.  Add to that the lack of help from several rescue squad units due to shortage of help, the problem is compounded.
Commissioners scheduled a workshop for Monday, October 26 at 5 p.m. to discuss the issues in their meeting room in the courthouse.  If a suitable arrangement can be reached, the issue may be on the next agenda on the first Monday in November.
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