SHELBY — After decades of outsourcing ambulance service to a private contractor, the Shelby Fire Department will be taking over all emergency medical service transport starting Thursday.
The department’s contract with Superior Ambulance Service expires at midnight on Oct. 13, Mayor Steven Schag said. The department will also handle all emergency medical transport for Jackson and Sharon Townships, which contract out their emergency medical and fire services to the SFD.
Chief Mike Thompson said the SFD has used a private ambulance service for decades.
“(Our contractor) would transport the patient and bill the patient, we acted as a backup for them,” he said.
“We only transported in the past if there were multiple patients on scene, like a car accident, or we get hit with two runs at once.”
The department transported 72 times in 2021, according to its 2021 Year End Report.
City council voted to approve the change, as recommended by Thompson and Shelby Mayor Steven Schag.
Schag called the change part of an exciting and historic time period for the city.
“We’ve got a beautiful, new, state-of-the-art fire station and I believe our fire department is one of the finest in the community,” he said. “This new EMS service that we’ll provide will continue a fine tradition and break new ground for patient care.”
Schag said discussions about the fire department taking on sole responsibility for medical transport have been ongoing for years. The impetus came a few weeks ago after the department’s contractor, Superior Ambulance Service, informed the SFD that it would need a $350,000 annual subsidy on its next contract.
In the past, Superior charged the department nothing, making its money by billing the residents it transports.
“They wanted $350,000 all of a sudden,” Thompson said. “The decision was made to add manpower and take over transporting ourselves.”
Superior Vice President Mary Franco said providing ambulance services on billing revenue alone was becoming unsustainable. Personnel shortages and rising wages for EMTs and paramedics are straining the industry nationwide. Reimbursement rates from Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance have failed to keep up.
“Medicaid is set per state. Ohio has one of the lowest reimbursement rates for ambulances,” she said.
“We’ve had a great partnership with Shelby. This had nothing to do with service. Unfortunately it’s a financial decision.”
The added responsibility won’t come without costs. Thompson said he plans to hire a minimum of three new firefighters.
The Shelby Fire Department currently has 12 full-time firefighters, five of whom are certified paramedics, and 11 volunteers. Thompson said one employee is currently taking classes to become a paramedic, but he hopes to gain more through additional hiring. The department will be hiring three new employees as soon as possible.
Thompson praised the SFD’s current staff for the willingness to make things work in the meantime.
“I really want to thank the guys, our staff for stepping up,” Thompson said. “They’re going to be working a lot here until we hire more staff. It’s going to be very taxing on them.”
Thompson said neighboring fire departments are also willing to help.
“Other departments realize our situation,” he said. “We want to thank them for stepping up and helping us out while we make that transition.”
The chief said he’d like to eventually increase the number of firefighters on duty from four to seven per shift.
“That’s going to depend on revenue and how things shake out money-wise,” he said.
Significant increases in staffing would necessitate more beds inside the fire station.
“We’re exploring options,” he said. “Whether we add on to the station here with more bedrooms or we add another station — we’re kicking around ideas.”
Schag said the city may also consider doubling up firefighters, adding beds to shared sleeping areas as opposed to each staffer having a private space.
“I think we will look at things here internally and then present some ideas to council for their input and then move forward from there,” he said.
“It’s going to be a balancing act between what our revenues will support and what Chief needs in terms of manpower. We’ve always worked well together so I believe we’ll figure that out.”
Schag said it will be important to keep the department fully staffed to avoid burnout and high overtime costs.
Thompson said he’s also working on an additional ambulance purchase. The department has two ambulances and has purchased a third.
“With the supply chain issues, it’s been ordered for half a year and they’re projecting it won’t be here until October 2024,” he said.
Thompson said there have been times when a Superior ambulance and both of the SFD’s have all been on the road at once. He estimated another ambulance would cost around $300,000.
Thompson said the change will have no immediate impact on taxes, but the fire department will likely request a budgetary increase from the city next year.
Billing from ambulance transfers will bring in some revenue, but Thompson said the department plans to “soft bill” for ambulance transfers.
Thompson said the change may result in lower out-of-pocket costs for residents after the transition, since Superior practiced hard billing.
Lateral transfer applications for the Shelby Fire Department can be found online at shelbycity.oh.gov.
Firefighter paramedics make a starting wage of $18.34 an hour, then $20.54 an hour after their third year with the department. Firefighters make $17.47 per hour, then $19.56 after three years.
Thompson noted that the department has “a really good insurance package” with lots of supplementals.
