Pulaski EMS May Be Able to Take More Transfers, As New Paramedics Join Department

Pulaski County EMS continues to deny most ambulance transfer requests from Pulaski Memorial Hospital, but EMS Director Bryan Corn expects that to change, as new paramedics are added to the department. He told the county commissioners Monday that his department denied all but one of the hospital’s 10 transfer requests during the month of April. Pulaski County EMS has decided not to take transfers when there’s only one paramedic on duty.

But now, Corn says a new paramedic has completed orientation and has started working. Another will start orientation later this month and begin working in June. “So A Shift will have two paramedics on it,” he told the commissioners. “C Shift will have two paramedics on it. Our only full-time opening — if you want to call it an opening because technically, it’s not — will be the one paramedic that we have on B Shift that’s off on workman’s comp with a back injury. Other than that, everything will be full, so hopefully, we can get back to picking up some transfers from the hospital and things like that.”

Also during his monthly report to the commissioners, Corn said the EMS department received over $28,000 through its billing company during the month of April. It also got $80,000 in Medicaid reimbursements for the year 2016. Corn expects another $15,000 for 2017.