Complaints about Groton Ambulance prompt town councilor to investigate
Councilor
Moravsik said he would also review incident reports during the period.
He initiated the review after hearing complaints about a decline in service and comments made at the
In one instance, a man was injured at a loading dock and the
Moravsik said he also learned that on seven Sundays, the ambulance did not have adequate staffing -- two people on duty at the same time -- to allow a crew to go out on calls.
"We have to make sure that the people that sit down in their house feel comfortable that an ambulance will come. That's the bottom line," Moravsik said. "When you get comments like that, you've got to ask, 'What's going on?'"
"I would never dispute that we had a staffing problem," Law said. "The issue is we're an at-will employer, and a large percentage of our staff is per diem, which means as needed, and the staff just has not been available to cover those shifts. Because they're per diem employees, they're not locked into any schedule."
The association has four full-time employees and 26 per diem staff on its roster, Law said. He said the association has since hired two part-time employees assigned to Sundays and two additional per-diem staff, one of whom is in training.
Law said this solved the Sunday problem. He said he could not afford to hire more full-time staff because of the cost of benefits. The association has no contracted service agreement with the town of
"The town never wanted to sign a contract that locked them into a monetary compensation for the ambulance service," he said. "But we can't do it with no guarantee of funding."
Groton Ambulance is a private, nonprofit organization, assigned to provide ambulance services to about two-thirds of
Mystic River Ambulance covers the portion of
The state
The town provides a subsidy of
The ambulance also bills insurance,
When a person calls 911 with a medical problem, the
If Groton Ambulance cannot respond because its ambulances are taking other patients to the hospital, or it is understaffed, the dispatcher forwards to the next closest ambulance, or Mystic River Ambulance. If that service is also busy, the dispatcher continues forwarding the call to the next closest company, until one responds.
One of the complaints involved a woman in her 70s in the
Groton Ambulance was dispatched but had two crews taking other patients to the hospital, so the call rolled over to
The ambulance responded about 40 minutes after the original call, as it drove with regular traffic and no siren, as is done with basic calls, Sastre said.
"We don't run into this a lot. It was almost like the perfect storm," Sastre said. "Does this happen every night of the week? No. Because every night of the week, Groton Ambulance doesn't have all its ambulances out, nor does
Law said the
Sastre said Groton Ambulance responds to serious emergencies within an average of 6 minutes.
"That's not bad," he said.
Sastre met with Moravsik and Town Manager
Municipalities set the performance standards for emergency medical groups assigned to their areas by the state
If rules or standards are violated, the commissioner of public health has various remedies ranging from retraining to revoking a certificate or license, Stan said.
A municipality may also petition the state to take over a service area for performance issues.
"The state's (primary service area) process is designed to assure that all
Sastre said ambulance associations, like hospitals and other medical agencies, are struggling with lower insurance reimbursements and other payments due to changes brought by the Affordable Care Act. Ambulances also are not paid if they assist a patient but do not transport, Sastre said.
It comes down to money, he said. During budget time, people are so focused on the bottom line that they don't ask basic questions like how an organization is doing, he said.
"We're all on the same page," he said. "I have to give them credit. They're making attempts to improve. Just like us, we've had our issues and we've made improvements."
Moravsik said Groton Ambulance provides excellent service when it is available; the issue is how available it is.
People driving down
Twitter: @DStraszheim
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