County ambulance service to consolidate office and station

Jan. 29--On average the South Taylor Emergency Medical Service responded to calls within its 700-square-mile coverage area in about 15 minutes, Director of Operations David Allman told the Taylor County Commissioners Court Tuesday.

In his overview, Allman said he was pleased with the nonprofit ambulance service's performance in 2013.

In October 2011 commissioners penned an agreement with STEMS for ambulance services in rural parts of the county. STEMS officially took over for MetroCare, which serves Abilene, in those areas Dec. 15, 2011.

Allman told commissioners 81 percent of its 1,029 calls last year came from five communities -- Tye, Buffalo Gap, Potosi, Tuscola and View.

To more efficiently provide emergency medical services, STEMS is looking at a centralized location for its administrative office and station. Currently, the office is in Tuscola and its ambulance station is at 4358 Farm Road 707 in Caps. Two ambulances are in Caps with a backup in Tuscola.

"We're looking into having one centralized property and that's at 1458 CR (County Road) 314 which is next to the Caps Cemetery off (FM) 707," Allman said. "We've looked at other locations but this one is the best, we thought. Strategically, that's where we want to be to make sure we have good response times."

STEMS is not contracted to be at a patient's location within a certain time, but Allman pointed out arriving in 15 minutes or less is STEMS' goal.

Also, the county isn't legally required to provide service to residents in unincorporated areas, but county officials said they believe they should.

The service is exploring ways to raise funds thorough grants and donations to build its ambulance station, which Allman estimated to cost between $250,000 and $300,000.

Along with his report, Allman gave commissioners a heads-up that STEMS will likely request $558,000 in the county's next budget. The county budgeted $500,000 this year to cover the cost of ambulance service.

"The money we get from the county is operational expenses," Allman explained. "The money we collect from insurance and donations, that's what we use to upgrade equipment or buy equipment."

STEMS has eight full-and 12 part-time employees.

Commissioners also:

Tabled a transfer of property to the county in Precinct 2. Commissioner Kyle Kendrick said the 0.43-acre property east of Merkel is being donated.

Approved the appointment of Dr. Peter Norton, an Abilene gynecologist, to become medical director and health authority for the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District.

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