Published June 26 in the Maysville Ledger Independent

Robertson facing an ambulance emergency

By KELLY SUDZINA
Maysville Ledger Independent Staff Writer

MOUNT OLIVET —  Robertson County is again in search of an organization to run the county ambulance service.

Judge-Executive Bradley Gif-ford has been in contact with officials from an ambulance service based in Florence called American Emergency Resour-ces.

Although no formal proposal or offer has been made on AER’s part, spokesman Andy Wartman came to a special fiscal court meeting Tuesday to tell the court about the group and to ask questions.

The Florence-based service has recently decided to expand into Nicholas County. Wartman said the group is considering making the operation a regional ambulance service, and that area could include Robertson County if the details work out.

Robertson County currently has basic life support. The EMS covers about a 100-square-mile radius including one nursing home. The county has mutual aid agreements with all the surrounding counties, so if both ambulances are ever out and a third call comes in, another county will send in support.

One of those counties Robert-son County has an agreement with is Nicholas County, which has advanced life support as well as basic life support. If AER directed both Nicholas and Robertson counties, the two could routinely aid each other under a regional system.

The other option would be to create a tiered system – both basic and advanced life support – within Robertson County. AER has not yet looked into that expense.

“We have spoken to our board,” Wartman said. “We need more feedback and information.”

He said it will be hard to commit within the next several days, which the fiscal court requested, without “seeing the whole picture.”

Current Director of EMS Jim Conley has told the fiscal court he cannot afford to renew his contract with the service when it expires at the end of June. Conley said he supplemented the service’s budget with his personal funds over the past year to keep it going, and now is not certain he will make the money back.

Since Conley’s contract is up June 30, the life squad members are left wondering whether funds will be available to pay for a staff beginning Monday.

“They’ve never had a plan B – no contingency plan,” said EMS dispatcher Wendy Mitchell. “What are we doing Monday morning?” she asked during the meeting.

The magistrates did not give her an official answer, but Gifford said they will be paid for whatever hours they work next week.

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