Starke County EMS Director Paul Matthewson and Council President Dave Pearman hope to have a final recommendation for the county commissioners at their next meeting with regard to expanded paramedic service. They’re still crunching numbers to determine if the county can sustain the additional cost of adding more paramedics and ambulances in order to provide transfers from IU Health Starke Hospital to other facilities. Commissioner Kathy Norem says they need to proceed carefully and make a sound financial decision so as not to incur a huge deficit. She says while offering additional transportation services will increase revenues, overhead costs will go up as well. Money to cover those costs would come from the county’s general fund.
