Ill. city, hospital system looks for new EMS agency
HSHS St. Mary's, which owns Decatur Ambulance Service, plans to close it on Sept. 1
www.ems1.com
HSHS to close Decatur Ambulance Service on Sept. 1
This is a developing story that will be updated.
HSHS St Mary's purchased the company in 2018. It currently serves residents of Decatur/Macon County, Pana/Christian County, Shelbyville/Shelby County and surrounding communities. They have been serving the area since 1959. It is the only ambulance service in Decatur and many of these communities.
State law requires large employers to give 60 days advance notice before mass layoffs. Despite the Sept. 1 termination notice, Kindseth said that HSHS has committed to keep the ambulance service around until there's a transition to a new provider.
The closure comes four years after a competing ambulance company fell one vote short of being licensed by the Decatur City Council. Champaign-based Arrow Ambulance, which was being backed by Decatur Memorial Hospital, had sought to become the city's second licensed provider.
As of February 2020, the company had a fleet of 19 ambulances staffed by 24 emergency medical technicians and 50 paramedics.
They have a DMR Capacity Plus System with 5 sites: Decatur Ambulance Service Trunking System, Decatur, Illinois
Website - Home | Decatur Ambulance Service
The hospital system's full statement is below:
After detailed research and discernment, HSHS St. Mary’s Decatur leadership has decided to dissolve the pre-hospital service line of Decatur Ambulance Service (DAS) in the coming months. We are working in collaboration with city officials to secure another vendor to service the community before the closure of September 1, 2022. Our objective is for the public to not see any disruption in service when the need for emergent care arises.
This decision was weighed heavily, as we have been proud and privileged to serve the residents of Decatur, Pana and surrounding communities. We are dedicated to ensuring that the community continues to have access to emergency care delivered at a high level.
The pre-hospital care environment is a specialized one. There are numerous external agencies whose sole business is in-the-field care and transport who can take over and continue to deliver this service at the expert level currently given. Factors that led us to this service closure include the current and very difficult landscape for filling open positions with quality candidates in this high-demand field and the ongoing cost of upgrading necessary equipment, vehicles and other supplies
The colleagues of DAS deliver high-quality care and the performance of their duties has not impacted this decision and we truly thank them for their years of service. Colleagues will be considered to transition to open positions within St. Mary’s Hospital or other HSHS entities if they are qualified and want to remain with HSHS. In addition, there is high demand in the field of pre-hospital care and their skill and expertise could be an asset to any future agency in our area.
Overall, we’ve laid a strong foundation of pre-hospital care in the community and we will continue collaborative discussions to open opportunities for additional pre-hospital businesses to join our community.
