BENTONVILLE -- Benton County is looking for a better deal on ambulance service for the southeastern part of the county.
County Judge Barry Moehring and Robert McGowen, emergency services administrator, told the Public Safety Committee on Tuesday the county will solicit proposals to provide ambulance service, with the request for qualifications expected to be completed this week. Brenda Guenther, comptroller, said any parties interested in providing the service will have 10 days to submit a proposal.
Ambulance costs
Benton County pays about $1.8 million annually for rural ambulance service. The county receives about $875,000 for a millage dedicated to emergency medical services; another $257,000 from a voluntary EMS millage and pays the remaining $672,000 from the general fund.
Source: Benton County
The county is paying Rogers and Mercy Health Systems for ambulance service to the area. Mercy provides ambulance service to three fire districts: Pleasure Heights; Hickory Creek and Lowell fire districts. Mercy receives about $466,000 per year for the service. Rogers provides ambulance service to four fire districts: Highway 94 east; Beaver Lake; Piney Point and Rocky Branch. Rogers is paid about $352,000 per year for the service. McGowen said there are about 6,700 households in the area.The county pays about $1.8 million for ambulance service in the unincorporated areas across the county.
The service issue has been complicated by efforts by the Beaver Lake Fire Department to establish its own ambulance service, McGowen said. Beaver Lake has an ambulance in service to provide basic life support service, which is a step below the advanced life support now offered. He said the department is working on plans to upgrade, but residents of the Rocky Branch and Piney Point district have expressed preference for continuing to receive ambulance service from Rogers. At the same time, McGowen said, Rogers has said they will no longer respond to calls requiring basic life support responses in or east of the Beaver Lake District, the area that includes Rocky Branch and Piney Point, while the Beaver Lake ambulance can respond to those calls.
McGowen said the county is looking for a single provider for the entire area, hoping the cost to the county can be lowered while maintaining the level of service.
"Rogers and Mercy have been great partners with the county," McGowen said. "We don't have any problems with them, We're just looking for a long-term solution to EMS across the county."
McGowen said the request for qualifications will ask companies to provide proposals for four scenarios -- providing service to the entire area; providing service to the area except for the Beaver Lake district; and proposals that would add air ambulance service to both those options.
Moehring said the county aims to have a single provider and a service acceptable to the residents of the fire districts.
"We're going to put it out there and see what we get back," Moehring said.
The justices of the peace also were briefed on plans to move the dive team under the authority of the Benton County Sheriff's Office. The dive team has been supervised by an independent board, appointed by the county judge, for the past several years. After two member of the volunteer group were recently arrested in connection with theft of services for allegedly using a dive team boat and equipment for their own use, the board voted to suspend operation and recommend the Sheriff's Office take responsibility for the group. The committee voted to recommend the dive team be under the Sheriff's Office.
The committee also heard the county is working on plans for a new radio system for emergency communications. McGowen said the county is reviewing two proposals and he will bring more information to the Quorum Court next month.
NW News on 08/16/2017