County ambulance board discusses making paramedic program more affordable
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by Patty Cheffey
How to make the paramedic program more affordable to those who want to study it and keep those individuals as employees was discussed by the Marion County Ambulance District board during their meeting last week.
Chief John Nemes discussed ideas for helping pay for paramedic classes in exchange for an employee staying in the district to repay it back during the meeting, at which the board also approved two bids, amended a final payment for truck repair and discussed the GEMT payment.
Nemes said he had drawn up a draft policy which would allow Marion County Ambulance District (MCAD) to pay the approximate $7,000 for paramedic schooling with the employee then paying it back through payroll deduction.
“They would have to sign a promissory note too, so we could guarantee we’d get our money back,” he said.
While liking the idea, board member Brandon Wells suggested instead that if an employee stays and works in the district for an extended period of time, they would no longer have to pay the loan back.
“It’s a recruiting tool,” he said, noting that with competition with other ambulance districts, MCAD needed to find a tool to retain employees.
Other board members agreed it might possibly work more like a scholarship program with employees staying with the district in exchange for not having to pay the money back for the schooling.
No decision was made, and Nemes said he would check with the district’s attorney on the matter.
In other business, the board approved a bid from Scott Anderson’s Home Improvement for $24,500 to repair the roof on the Administration Building, which was damaged in a recent hail storm.
They also approved a bid of $2,462 to Northeast Seamless Guttering to replace damaged guttering on the building.
Although the siding on the facility has also been damaged, as of last week, the district had not received any bids to replace siding.
In old business, the board approved amending the amount approved for truck remounts and rewrapping.
Originally the board had approved $660,000, but because of the delay in materials, the final cost was actually $720,000, and the board approved the difference.
The board also approved making the $163,000 payment for Missouri’s share for the GEMT program.
While the district will get that back, Nemes informed the board they had been overpaid through that program last year and the district needs to return $128,000.
Although there was some confusion from the program as to how the district will do that, either as direct payment or as payment taken out of this year’s GEMT payment, Nemes said it has been worked out.
In his report, Nemes said MCAD is in the process of rebuilding the district’s webpage and is looking at adding a payment option for billing, class tuition and other payments.
InstaMed, a credit card service, was discussed, and although it will cost them on each transaction, Nemes believes the district will come out ahead as the district will see more collections.
The program will allow the district to set up automatic payments so bills can be broken down over several months if need be, he said, adding the website is up and working, but needs some updating.
He also reported the Stryker Power Load was purchased after verification of the Missouri Employers Mutual grant and had been installed in the van.
Paperwork has been submitted, he said, and the district will be reimbursed $10,000 of the overall $26,000 cost.
Verification of the ARPA matching fund grant from the state was also received, and after Nemes attends a WebEx meeting, the district can purchase the Zoll X-Series cardiac monitor.
“The state will then reimburse us for half of the $34,000 needed to purchase the cardiac monitor,” he said.
He also reported:
• Newton 360 is in process and as they complete integration with the scheduling software, it can be used for immediate employee feedback and review;
• the district had provided an ambulance to Adams County under a mutual aid request during a funeral for one of Adams County’s employees. MCAD also put a truck in the funeral procession;
• the district participated in the parade for Palmyra youth wrestling champs, did a show and tell at the Hannibal Children’s Center and Early Childhood Development teddy bear clinic and provided a standby for Shamrock Shuffle and Strollin’;
• he had several employees enrolled in the Crisis Intervention Team training, which helps promote a greater understanding of mental health issues and identify mental health resources; and
• on the number of calls MCAD answered in March, a total of 485.
Following the regular meeting, the board adjourned sine de, and then reorganized the new board.
Officers remained the same under the new board: Dot Lake, president; Wells, vice president; and Cheryl Arntz, who was filling the unexpired term of Tom Rupp, secretary.
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