For the past few months, the board, along with Louisa city officials, have looked into complaints against Life Star Ambulance, the county's only ambulance provider.

``We are just wanting what is best for the citizens of the county," said Teddy Preston, chairman of the ambulance board and city council member. ``There have been some problems and we just want to get things going in the right direction now."

Last month, Louisa Mayor Michael Sullivan sent a letter to the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services saying citizens have complained about the length of time it takes for an ambulance to respond, as well as an unreasonable amount of money charged for the company's services.

Life Star's owner, Phillip Elliott, said he has never heard of any such complaints.

Because of the reported problems with Life Star, the ambulance board is trying to get another service to come into the county.

For that to happen, a certificate of need would have to be filed with and approved by the Cabinet for Health Services in Frankfort. That process could take six months or longer because certificates of need are granted only two times a year — in the spring and the fall.

On Monday, the ambulance board met with Terry Fraley, owner of NetCare Ambulance Service in Inez, to discuss the possibility of NetCare serving the county.

The company currently is licensed to run only transports in the county — not emergency runs.

Fraley said Monday's meeting was ``productive," but he still is unsure if he will file a certificate of need.

``I didn't make any commitment to the board," Fraley said. ``But, I can tell you that we are very interested and we are exploring the possibility of expanding."

Preston said he would support NetCare, and any other companies that show an interest in helping resolve the county's emergency services problem.

``We would have no other choice but to support them," Preston said. ``It's really out of our hands, though. Anybody can file a CON (certificate of need) and after that, it's up to the state and them."

Several months ago, the ambulance board met with Chuck Williams, owner of Medical Transportation Service in Ashland.

But, Preston said, he has never heard from Williams since then.

According to the Cabinet of Health Services, Williams has filed a letter of intent to file a certificate of need, but has not actually done so yet.