Rescue Squad regroups

April 05-- Apr. 5--Haywood County Rescue Squad has spent the past two months regrouping after employees were unable to be paid, two staffers were fired and all but two board members resigned.

Anthony Messer, the new board chairman, said the billing problems precipitating the downward spiral that all but bankrupted the organization are being sorted out. The organization is also crafting a business plan, something suggested by County Manager Bryant Moorehead.

Additionally, the new board agreed to send out a fundraising letter to help the organization get back on its feet.

Paid staff operated the squad's transport service, a revenue-producing division that answered daytime calls to transport clients from nursing homes to doctor's offices or the hospital or take hospital patients back home.

Another separate part of the organization encompassed two all-volunteer efforts -- a search and rescue function, which has about 37 volunteers, and a backup service when the county's emergency medical services department can't handle the call level. That service has 40 volunteers on the roster, Messer said.

When the Rescue Squad was facing reduced contributions a number of years ago, Messer said, the transport service was started in hopes it would generate revenue to support the volunteer functions.

The transport service calls were paid calls that were billed to insurance companies, nursing homes or hospitals and were often covered by Medicare or Medicaid, he said.

What happened?

The transport service ran well and served its purpose for years, Messer said, and the Rescue Squad responded to an estimated 2,800 transport calls last year. But administrative problems developed that resulted in the service being provided, but bills not being submitted for payment. That sent the organization into a tailspin.

Messer said the Rescue Squad works with EMS/MC, a Winston-Salem billing company that has numerous medical service clients. After a call is completed, data is electronically entered into a system that generates a patient care report, known as a PCR.

The protocol was for two Rescue Squad employees to review the PCR before it was sent to the billing company.

"That's where the ball was dropped," Messer said. "There were 128 runs that were supposed to be corrected and submitted that never got done. It was enough to put us in a financial bind."

Bills for those runs have been sorted out and sent in for payment, but there's a 90- to 120-day lag period, so it will take time for funds to catch up.

However, the organization has no funds to pay for costs like fuel, vehicle repairs, building heating, the lighting costs or the $5,000 monthly truck payment.

What's next

After all but two members of the Rescue Squad board resigned in the wake of the financial devastation, a new board has been recruited that includes a representative from the sheriff's department, the EMS department, a lifetime legacy board member and several volunteers with the organization.

The group met Tuesday, and the plan going forward is four-fold.

--Ensure that a volunteer will be there for a single client that needs transport services each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, calls that Messer said will generate $3,000 a week. These funds will help pay for fuel, cover the truck payment and keep the lights on until the non-reimbursed payments arrive.

--Finish a business plan to present to the county in hopes the commissioners will help fund the group

--Have the company that has sent out fundraising letters in the past make an appeal for donations

--Get to the bottom of what exactly went wrong and hold those responsible accountable

"If there's been wrongdoing, it will be dealt with," Messer said. "We had that discussion. Wrongdoing is wrongdoing. When you are on a board, you have to stand up for the organization, even if it is against friends. We have to make that division."

Employees still haven't been paid, Messer said, noting the board is waiting until there are funds available to pay all employees at once as opposed to paying one person and not another.

The transport division's biggest expense was payroll for the personnel that started out at $17 an hour, considerably higher than the county's $14 an hour beginning salary. The difference, he said, is that the county offers a benefit package while the nonprofit does not.

"We can't afford $17 anymore," Messer said. "Salaries will be cut."

The Rescue Squad meetings are open to the public and are held at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the organization's building.

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