The latest ambulance closure.  Interesting honesty and transparency from the hospital owner about the reasons for the decision to close the sole and exclusive ambulance provider for 3 communities in Central Illinois.

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HSHS to close Decatur Ambulance Service on Sept. 1

Brenden Moore

6/27/22

https://herald-review.com/news/local/public_safety/hshs-to-close-decatur-ambulance-service-on-sept-1/article_b33318b4-f653-11ec-9e74-9f830d238b04.html

DECATUR — Efforts are underway to find another emergency medical transport provider after Hospital Sisters Health System confirmed Monday that it would close Decatur Ambulance Service as of Sept. 1.

Founded in 1959 and purchased by HSHS St. Mary's in 2018, Decatur Ambulance Service has long been the sole provider of ambulance services in the city. It also serves Pana and Shelbyville.

The hospital said it was working with city officials to secure another vendor to serve the community before the closure. Spokeswoman Jennifer Snopko said factors that drove the decision included the difficulty of finding qualified candidates for open positions and the cost of equipment and vehicles.

"This decision was weighed heavily, as we have been proud and privileged to serve the residents of Decatur, Pana and surrounding communities," Snopko said in an emailed statement. "We are dedicated to ensuring that the community continues to have access to emergency care delivered at a high level."

It was not immediately clear how many employees would be affected, and a Decatur Ambulance Service representative could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. As of February 2020, the company had a fleet of 19 ambulances staffed by 24 emergency medical technicians and 50 paramedics, who have a higher level of training.

Deputy City Manager Jon Kindseth said city leaders were aware of the impending closure.

"I think long story short, HSHS has been losing money under Decatur Ambulance Service," Kindseth said. "And I think that they've just kind of finally come to the end of the line to say that we can't continue to run the ambulance service and take a loss year-after-year."

Kindseth said city officials have been working with HSHS and Memorial Health to find a replacement service to serve Decatur. This may come in the form of a request for proposal, though the city's only formal role is to issue licenses for ambulance companies to operate within city limits.

"Our goal would be to try to get as many respondents to the solicitation for proposals," Kindseth said. "Competition is always a good thing. Whether it ends up being one company or multiple companies ultimately getting licensed, we'll have to wait and see how those responses come back."

State law requires large employers to give 60 days advance notice before mass layoffs. Despite the Sept. 1 termination notice, Kindseth said that HSHS has committed to keep the ambulance service around until there's a transition to a new provider.

The closure comes four years after a competing ambulance company fell one vote short of being licensed by the Decatur City Council. Champaign-based Arrow Ambulance, which was being backed by Decatur Memorial Hospital, had sought to become the city's second licensed provider.

St. Mary’s and Decatur Ambulance Service leaders fought the move, arguing that the city did not need additional emergency transport, and that introducing another company would hurt the current business and put paramedics out of work.

Decatur Ambulance Service leaders and employees also expressed serious concerns in 2015 when city officials considered the possibility of operating their own ambulance through the fire department.

Nationally, emergency medical transportation providers have been having issues for years. The National Rural Health Association found in 2018 that a third of rural emergency medical services were struggling with inadequate funding.

Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe, who is the executive director of philanthropy, advocacy and community relations at HSHS St. Mary's, declined comment, citing a conflict of interest given her job.

The hospital system's full statement is below:

After detailed research and discernment, HSHS St. Mary’s Decatur leadership has decided to dissolve the pre-hospital service line of Decatur Ambulance Service (DAS) in the coming months. We are working in collaboration with city officials to secure another vendor to service the community before the closure of September 1, 2022. Our objective is for the public to not see any disruption in service when the need for emergent care arises.

This decision was weighed heavily, as we have been proud and privileged to serve the residents of Decatur, Pana and surrounding communities. We are dedicated to ensuring that the community continues to have access to emergency care delivered at a high level.

The pre-hospital care environment is a specialized one. There are numerous external agencies whose sole business is in-the-field care and transport who can take over and continue to deliver this service at the expert level currently given. Factors that led us to this service closure include the current and very difficult landscape for filling open positions with quality candidates in this high-demand field and the ongoing cost of upgrading necessary equipment, vehicles and other supplies

The colleagues of DAS deliver high-quality care and the performance of their duties has not impacted this decision and we truly thank them for their years of service. Colleagues will be considered to transition to open positions within St. Mary’s Hospital or other HSHS entities if they are qualified and want to remain with HSHS. In addition, there is high demand in the field of pre-hospital care and their skill and expertise could be an asset to any future agency in our area.

Overall, we’ve laid a strong foundation of pre-hospital care in the community and we will continue collaborative discussions to open opportunities for additional pre-hospital businesses to join our community.