Future of EMS Discussed by Highlander, NY, Fire Protection Officers

FLOYD COUNTY — Highlander Fire Protection District is preparing for the future of its EMS service as county officials consider long-term options for ambulance service.

Officials with Highlander presented updates on its ambulance service at Tuesday’s Floyd County Commissioners meeting while commissioners asked questions and voiced concerns.

Floyd County currently has a hybrid EMS system with Highlander providing service to Greenville and Lafayette townships and AmeriPro Health serving the rest of the county outside the City of New Albany. The contracts run through 2026.

County officials are debating the next steps for EMS service, including the possibility of a standalone, countywide ambulance service as recommended by the county’s EMS task force last year.

Highlander Fire Captain Keith Young, a firefighter and paramedic with the district, discussed plans to enhance the department’s EMS program.

He said the fire district’s total call volume for June was 137 calls with 115 being medical calls, and there are about two to three calls a day. Highlander is on track for about 1,400 EMS calls for the year.

He also noted the effects of growth in the area due to new residential developments in Floyd County.

Young said the district put a stipend into effect to provide an extra $5,000 a year for those holding advanced EMT certifications and an additional $12,000 a year for those who receive paramedic licenses.

“This will incentivize our personnel for higher levels of care,” he said. “It gives higher levels of care for those first people on the scene and maintains that higher level of care for ambulances so we can have personnel take their vacations and not have to drop that care level down.”

Highlander is also pursuing plans for a Mobile Integrated Health program, or community paramedicine. The district is waiting for state approval for the program, which would be the first in Floyd County.

“At that point, we’ll be able to go into the community, and we’ll probably sign some things with Georgetown and New Albany Township so we can extend our community paramedicine out in their areas and help them cut down on their 911 calls and help them with improving patient outcomes,” he said.

In December, Highlander is expecting a third new ambulance, and the district is looking into certifying all of its fire engines as advanced life support engines, non-transporting.

“So that way, should the ambulances be out, those personnel and the engines can support the higher levels of care before another ambulance gets there,” Young said.

He noted that the district has also switched to a different billing company with the goal that the county is “billing the insurances and not the customers.”

“That’s what we were doing in the past,” he said. “We don’t feel that somebody should have to pay twice. You shouldn’t have to pay taxes and then pay for a service that you’re paying taxes for.”

The billing company is also providing on-site training for the department to make sure it is “meeting the standard,” and there are monthly Medicare and Medicaid audits. There will also be a projected reimbursement of about $585,000.

QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS

Floyd County Commissioner Jason Sharp, who is a firefighter with Jeffersonville Fire Department, questioned whether there has been “any lapse” in the district’s ability to provide fire service since it started providing EMS. Highlander Fire Board President Matt Smith responded that there is “probably a day or two that it is.”

“I would say that anybody who says they’re perfect is probably not telling 100% of the truth,” Smith said.

In addition, Sharp asked about the last time the district bought new gear for Highlander’s personnel. Smith said it was ordered and approved at its last board meeting, but the gear was outdated by about 15 years.

Sharp said one of his concerns about Highlander providing EMS service in Floyd County was that it would be “overly focused on getting part of this service up and running while the other side would, for a lack of a better word, suffer.”

“Like basic personal protection equipment for your firefighters — it’s the most basic piece of equipment to keep them safe that there is, and it’s 15 years old that has a 10-year shelf life that’s being replaced at 15 years,” he said.

Smith said he does not know why the former Lafayette fire district did not buy new fire gear, but when the Highlander board was formed, new gear was one of the priorities.

“I don’t think that there’s been any discussion or concern about not being able to take care of our firefighter needs because we’re spending money on EMS,” he said. “I don’t think that’s accurate. But I can’t tell you why Lafayette did not choose to buy gear before that.”

Floyd County Commissioner Frank Loop noted 14 situations this year where Highlander Fire did not have enough staffing available to operate a truck.

“The whole reason that the county gave you guys ambulances was because the previous service said, we didn’t have the staff,” he said. “Well now, we’ve got 14 times documented in Floyd County where after they gave you the ambulances, you don’t have the staff either.”

Young said at that time, the district was working to bring on more personnel, but at this time, it has enough personnel.

“There are several times when we’ve had both ambulances out and AmeriPro’s had both ambulances in the county out, and we’re still getting calls,” he said.

Loop said Highlander also needs to be reporting monthly to the county with the number of runs, but “we’re not getting anything.”

“There’s a lot of lack of communication,” he said.

Another official with Highlander Fire responded that he will make sure the county commissioners are receiving the monthly reports moving forward.

He also questioned where the district is in hiring a permanent fire chief, emphasizing that it has been months.

“It shouldn’t take that long,” Loop said.

Jeremy Klein, the former Highlander fire chief, announced his retirement from the department last fall after months of being placed on administrative leave.

Smith said the board is down to two to three candidates.

Loop also asked about “rumors that the previous administration destroyed records or took records with them,” including financial and personnel records.

Smith said he is “not aware of anything” being taken.

“I’ve not been told that anything’s been taken or destroyed,” he said.

Smith addressed concerns about the district’s debt, noting that there has “been no new debt that the Highlander board has taken on since the Highlander board was put in place.”

There is a total of $1.8 million in total debt, he said. This includes a bond on a fire station built in Lafayette Township that was built years ago, and there is $659,000 left on the bond.

There is also debt on an engine from Greenville Township with $369,000 in debt. An engine purchased by Lafayette Township includes $870,000 in debt.

“We’re not over-leveraged for our cash flow,” Smith said. “We think we’re in a pretty good position with those interest rates on the equipment that we have and where we’re positioned right now, and we have no new debt that is on the docket right now to take on in 2025.”

Sharp questioned Highlander on the debt on a vehicle that is not currently in service. Smith said the previous fire district administration bought a truck that was “ordered with the wrong spec in the current administration’s views,” and it is currently for sale.

In addition, Sharp questioned how the district is planning to pay for the proposed enhancements in service.

Smith said the district needs answers from the commissioners and the council for what will happen after the existing contract expires in 2026.

“Currently Highlander and Greenville are funding part of the EMS because the contract that’s with the commissioners right now doesn’t 100% cover the cost, so past 2026, I can’t tell you that because the funding is not there unless Lafayette and Greenville taxes are raised to fund EMS,” he said.

“So there is not a long-term plan past 2026 because that comes from you guys at the commissioners or the council.”

Sharp noted that the recent tax reform law could have a substantial effect on Highlander, saying it could involve $216,080 in cuts in 2026, $258,510 in 2027, and $316,900 in 2028.

“That’s why I asked about how are you going to pay for this because the recent legislation not to mention the fact that you already don’t have a funding mechanism set up within the district now,” he said.

Smith said the fire district is “waiting for the decision from you guys so we can do our budget.”

“Are we going to continue past 2026?” he said. “What do you need of us? Because there’s nothing in there for that. We’re just trying to do the best we can with what you guys asked us.”

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