Staff Photo by Dan Henry Angel EMS field supervisor Mitchell Kingsley restocks an ambulance in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., on Thursday. Angel EMS has contracted to be the primary provider of transportation for Catoosa County as of December 30, 2008.

Five months into providing their own ambulance services, Dade, Walker and Catoosa counties report a fairly smooth and speedy transition.

Hutcheson Medical Center announced in October 2008 that it no longer would provide ambulance service to the three counties beginning with the new year, compelling them to hustle to avoid any gap in service.

"We had just a month or so to do a year's worth of work," said Ted Rumley, Dade County executive. "People were worried at first. ... But overall it's been good."

After seeking bids from area ambulance services, Dade County chose Lifeguard Ambulance Service, which has a center in Hamilton County. The service now has two stations in Dade County, with two ambulances and a "quick-response" sport utility vehicle serving the county. If by chance both ambulances are called out at once, a third ambulance will be sent to Dade County from Hamilton County to provide additional coverage, said Scott Konrad, Chattanooga operation manager.

Walker County opted to create its own ambulance division, instead of contracting with an outside company. Walker now has six ambulances serving county residents, said David Ashburn, Walker County coordinator. The county, which hired about 28 former Hutcheson employees, will receive three fire-medic units at the end of the month, he said.

"It's been going extremely well. We've gotten lots of positive responses from the public to the level of service," he said.

Walker County has faced some delays in setting up its Medicare and Medicaid billing process, forcing the county to provide funds to support the service, Mr. Ashburn said. Eventually, though, the service should be funded 100 percent through billing, he said.

Catoosa County has partnered with Angel EMS, which already provided backup ambulance service in the county. Angel has six ambulances that operate in Catoosa, said Dewayne Wilson, Angel CEO.

The company hired about 50 former Hutcheson EMS workers, who all lost their jobs when Hutcheson dropped the ambulance business.

"So far we haven't had any complaints," Mr. Wilson said. The transition has "been a whole lot smoother than what we anticipated."

COSTLY SERVICE

The EMS operation was a significant drain on Hutcheson, officials said, at a time when the hospital was in need of renovations and improvements that directly affected medical care, hospital CEO Charles Stewart said.

"We still feel like it was the best decision for our citizens" to turn over ambulance coverage to the counties, he said. "We had other priorities where we felt we needed to make capital improvements for the delivery of patient care."

In fiscal year 2008, the hospital lost about $700,000 providing EMS service, even though it received a $477,000 subsidy from the three counties it served, Mr. Stewart said.

Hutcheson's nine ambulances were in need of replacement, which would have added a significant financial burden to the hospital, he said.

Many of Hutcheson's 89 EMS workers, who lost their jobs at the end of 2008, have been hired on by other EMS services, he said.

"From our perspective, the transition went smoothly. ... I've not heard any complaints about any of the groups that are doing the service now," Mr. Stewart said.

Hutcheson's EMS employees had complained last year about the rather abrupt and impersonal way in which they were informed of the change.

EMT Sandy Lynn, who had worked for Hutcheson for eight years and now works at Angel, said the transition was a big adjustment for EMS workers.

"We had a little bit of time to prepare, but still it was hard for us," she said. "Angel EMS is a good place to work. We just had to get (into) the mindset that we're not Hutcheson EMS anymore."