The recent approval of emergency medical services (EMS) legislation has been a source of concern for EMS Director Michael Burnett. Speaking with Allen County Commissioners Tuesday morning, Burnett addressed his concerns surrounding Senate Bill 384.
SB 384 would allow EMS providers to have only one certified medical professional on an ambulance. This is strictly for interfacility transfers such as moving someone from the hospital to a nursing home.
A shortage of trained people in rural areas has made this bill appealing to county commissioners across the state. The bill recently passed both houses and is awaiting the governor’s signature.
“Would you take on qualified drivers?” asked Commissioner David Lee, explaining that a non-medical driver could probably be paid less than someone who is a certified medical professional. “I would assume there would be some savings,” he said.
“Could be,” responded Burnett. “But, the way people are, they want more money. It’s hard to find good help by paying less.”
Burnett’s stance on the legislation mirrors that of the Kansas EMS Board. “I’d say probably 90% of EMS services in the state of Kansas did not want this,” he noted. “The EMS Board was against it also.”
The Kansas EMS Board asserts that the language of the bill is harmful and doesn’t protect the public from bad actors, places EMS providers at an increased risk, and creates logistical problems.
Burnett sees the legislation’s attempt at addressing staffing issues as regressive. “If you have only one certified personnel on the ambulance, they are doing all the work,” he explained. “They’re going to want more pay now since they’re not sharing the work. You can pay the driver less, but the other person is going to want more money for doing all of the work.”
Lee stressed that the legislation would not apply to 911 calls and are for transfers only.
Burnett responded that if they were to hire non-medical certified personnel to be drivers, that would tie up those ambulances to where they couldn’t respond to 911 calls.
“Ambulances that run transfers in Moran and Humboldt, they also run 911 calls in that area,” he said.
“We’ll see the rule when we get it,” said Commissioner Jerry Daniels. “We’ll see what the EMS Board does with it. I’m getting the feeling that Iola is not going to utilize this. It’s obviously trying to be helpful and I think it’s a good idea.”
Similarly, Lee is optimistic about the legislation and sees it as a potential benefit for the county.
“It could benefit the City of Iola, too,” said Commissioner Bruce Symes. “You’re saving personnel costs. It may take a new logistical discussion and layout where Moran and Humboldt are still staffed by fully qualified personnel and maybe we have an ambulance that is just for transfers. More will be revealed, I think.”
IN OTHER NEWS, interns with Thrive Allen County gave their update to commissioners. Chris Holloway, Brigham Folk, and Shelby Peters reviewed the outcome of their Community Conversation at Allen Community College. There were 15 students present for the conversation, all athletes. Some of the areas for improvement the students discussed included transportation and better communication of community events.
