Regional ambulance board elects officers, begins formation process
Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The board of directors of the Washington County Regional Ambulance Authority met Tuesday at the Clarion Inn in Fayetteville to elect officers and get the ball rolling on the formation of the new organization.
"I'm so glad we're here today to kick it off," said John Gibson, president of the Central Emergency Medical Service board of directors.
The newly formed authority consists of Fayetteville, Washington County, Elkins, Farmington, Goshen, Greenland, Johnson, Lincoln, Prairie Grove, West Fork and Winslow. Those entities have signed the Emergency Medical Services Interlocal Agreement, which will establish Central EMS as the exclusive emergency and non-emergency provider.
The regional authority eliminates competition within the ambulance industry in the participating areas, allowing one ambulance service to provide emergency response and nonemergency transfers. It is projected to save participating governments substantial amounts of money because they will no longer have to subsidize multiple ambulance services, according to a recommendation by Hugh Earnest, a facilitator hired to advocate for such a regional service.
Becky Stewart, executive director of Central EMS, said in an interview Tuesday that the current Central EMS must be operated as it is now until the new authority is ready to provide the service in October or November.
Stewart will continue to oversee Central EMS and will be involved in the formation of the authority. Then, when the authority takes over, she will be the executive director, according to a vote of the board Tuesday.
The bylaws, which the board approved Tuesday, dissolve the ambulance service's nonprofit status and change it to a quasi-governmental agency.
This means that instead of being an independent nonprofit organization with its own board of directors, the authority will be owned and operated by all of the governmental bodies that govern the areas the ambulance service serves, Stewart said.
The authority's board of directors on Tuesday elected West Fork Mayor Jeff Baker as president, Greenland Mayor John Gray as vice president and Farmington Mayor Ernie Penn as secretary-treasurer. The board will meet annually and will include representatives from the nine small towns, Fayetteville and Washington County.
Also Tuesday, board members signed a lease agreement for Central EMS to lease an ambulance to the newly organizing authority for the new entity to be licensed.
This is part of the Arkansas Department of Health process of becoming a licensed ambulance service in the state, Stewart said.
The board also voted to give an executive committee the power to oversee the daily operations of the regional ambulance service. Appointees to that committee are Lloyd Swope of the county, Fayetteville Alderman Bobby Ferrell, Fayetteville fire Chief Tony Johnson and Prairie Grove Mayor Sonny Hudson, who represents the nine small towns. It will also consist of one appointee each from the nursing home, hospital and financial communities. These representatives have yet to be voted on by the executive committee.
The executive committee will meet once a month.
Jerry Hunton, who is retiring as Washington County judge this year, said creation of the authority is the most important thing that has been accomplished during his tenure, which began in 1998.
"It affects people's lives," he said.
"I know this could not have happened if it had not been for the people sitting at this table," he told the authority board members.
He praised the small towns and Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody for their efforts in creating the authority.
"This really is a partnership of all the communities represented here," Hunton said.
He also thanked smalltown representatives for their patience through the process, which has taken about three years.
Coody told Hunton," We all owe you a debt because you're the driving force behind this."
"This was a group effort," Hunton said.
Gibson thanked County Attorney George Butler; Fayetteville City Attorney Kit Williams; Danny Wright, who serves as city attorney for Greenland, Goshen and Elkins; and Jack Butt II, a Fayetteville lawyer.
"They all worked together to keep us on the straight and narrow," Gibson said.
Stewart talked about the support from county communities.
"We're part of the community, and we do take that role seriously," she told the authority board.
In February, the Fayetteville Ambulance Committee had opted not to join the county and small towns in creating the authority, and there were discussions about leaving the existing ambulance service as it is while looking into alternatives.
But Fayetteville ended up approving an agreement.
Coody said he realizes Fayetteville was a hang-up in the process," with some of the personalities on the (City ) Council."
He thanked small-town officials for their patience.
"I'm sorry it took so long to get everybody on board," he said.
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