The Starke County EMS Department is reporting record revenue, as EMS Director Paul Mathewson and Mary Lynn Ritchie of the department approached the commissioners for their annual revenue report for 2012 with some very good figures. Ritchie explained that the department received more than their projected revenue, and said the new Advanced Life Support service is definitely a factor.
Ritchie told the commissioners that because the county has begun to offer ALS service, they are able to bill at a higher rate. Despite the fact that the county has only had the service for nine months, the department has turned around $143,000 more for 2012 than they had projected – a 20 percent increase. She said a quarter of the ambulance runs were transfers, and Mathewson explained that the county has now secured 80 percent of ALS transfers from IU Health Starke Hospital and 90 percent of the Basic Life Support transfers.
Mathewson said the department could secure more of those transfers by adding another paramedic, and he said he will report back with a presentation for the county council and commissioners explaining the costs and benefits of adding an additional paramedic.
Ritchie also explained to the commissioners that the EMS Department is still pursuing more than $1500 in small claims, and two more employees have begun taking paramedic classes with an estimated completion date in June.
