The ongoing battle to have Oakland County EMS make medical calls into Genesee County and Atlas Township is far from over.
On Tuesday morning, the Genesee County Board of Commissioners approved $150,000 from the county EMS millage for the Genesee County Medical Control Authority; however, the funding will be held until the GCMCA and the Michigan Township Association Genesee County Chapter meet to resolve the ongoing EMS response issues with Atlas Township, along with other outlying municipalities. In addition, the resolution stipulates the GCMCA recognize ambulance companies, as it has done with the current Groveland Township Mutual Aid agreement and treat the municipal providers in nearby counties the same. There has been no date for the MTA-Genesee County Chapter meeting with GCMCA.
Tuesday’s meeting was attended by Shirley Kautman-Jones, Atlas Township supervisor, Kathy Thurman, Brandon Township supervisor, and Bob DePalma, Groveland Township supervisor. Goodrich Schools Superintendent Michelle Imbrunone and area fire chiefs were also in attendance.
‘We are holding $150,000 hostage for you to make a solution,? said Mark Young, county commissioner repre-senting Atlas Township. ‘Rather than making a bureaucracy that does not want to make a decision ‘make a solution for a change.?
Young’s comments were directed at Bruce Trevithick, executive director of the GCMCA, who attended the commissioners? meeting in Flint. The resolution was another attempt to conclude the banter over protocol banning Oakland County-based Groveland Township EMS from making emergency runs into Atlas Township.
Due to low call volume, Goodrich and Atlas Township are not covered by an EMS, rather, depend on nearby private ambulance services from Grand Blanc, Davison and, until January, Groveland Township in case of emergency. As a result, response times in emergency situations have been a concern for township officials. Both Groveland and Brandon townships are just a few miles south of the county line and can respond in fewer minutes. However, the protocol established by GCMCA notifies an EMS stationed on Saginaw Street in Grand Blanc or the nearest ambulance that may be somewhere in the area of Goodrich or Atlas Township.
Trevithick emphasizes that CAAS, the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services, meets the basic standards and they are more comfortable with that for Genesee County. He also said the CAAS requirement in Genesee County, not required in Oakland County, is due to the large volume of private EMS agencies located in the area and functions as oversight. Due to the costs, neither Brandon nor Groveland Township have the CAAS certification.
The ongoing issues escalated, prompting a special meeting in March at Atlas Township Hall, in which Robert Pickell, Genesee County sheriff, issued a standing order for 9-1-1 to send Groveland Township when a medical call occurs into Genesee County under the mutual aid agreement. The dispute reemerged this past summer when Goodrich Schools requested Groveland Township EMS to park an ambulance at Goodrich Varsity Football games. In years past Groveland Township had provided this service to the district following a Sept. 30, 2011 incident where a Lake Fenton player laid on the field as minutes passed before an ambulance arrived. The delay sparked the ire of parents and township officials prompting safety concerns. Now, since Groveland does not have CAAS certification they are technically unauthorized to be stationed at the Goodrich Football games even with the current mutual aid agreement with Genesee County 9-1-1.
Trevithick told the commissioners the GCMCA does not recognize or agree to the mutual aid agreement.
‘The medical field is driven by data,? he said. ‘We are still evaluating the (mutual aid) agreement over the past six months until Sept. 26. We have not blessed the mutual aid agreement. We are at the end of data collection time and it will be resolved. I can’t be sure what direction our (GCMCA) board is going to take.?
Genesee County Commissioner Brenda Clack was not pleased with the response.
‘I cannot see data overriding humanity, there are ways to resolve this,? she said. ‘I don’t understand your board delaying. This is ridiculous. If there’s a turf issue lets deal with it, there must be some changes.?
Jamie Curtis, county commissioner, questioned the delay by the GCMCA.
‘What data are you looking for? The data is not going to help you,? he said. ‘You know you don’t have ambulances out there. You know there’s a problem in the fringes of the county.?
Oakland County has several municipalities like Brandon and Groveland townships that have built-in standards for EMS rather than CAAS’they have a different mechanism for oversight.
Trevithick understands the CAAS requirement, which is renewed every three years, does cost a fair amount of money’anywhere from $10,000-$15,000.
?(Without CAAS) Groveland Township (EMS) is not licensed in Genesee County,? responded Trevithick. ‘They don’t meet that right now, we (in Genesee County) are being asked to decrease the oversight (we’ve established). Response time has very little to do with saving lives. We have set higher standards than Oakland County.?