Cloud of doubt looms over ambulance service in Aiken, Richmond counties
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Even as Gold Cross Emergency Medical Service’s future as an ambulance provider is in question in Richmond County, the company is planning to pull out of Aiken County.
Augusta leaders failed Tuesday to reach an agreement with the company to keep some type of ambulance service in Augusta.
Gold Cross is asking for a $2 million annual subsidy from the city, saying it can’t afford to stick around for less.
Meanwhile, that’s already happening with the company across the Savannah River in Aiken County.
That won’t help when the county already is in a crunch.
An emergency services representative says things are worse than in 2020 when it comes to periods when no ambulances are available to respond to an emergency.
The representative went on to say firefighters sometimes are waiting as long as an hour for an ambulance to show up, which keeps them from fighting fires.
Aiken County officials say they’ll have a third party come in to evaluate everything from culture to pay scale.
After the failure of a proposed contract in Richmond County, discussion on the matter was moved to a Jan. 24 special meeting of the Augusta Commission.
It’s not clear what will happen with the ambulance service. Tuesday was considered a make-or-break day on a long-simmering problem that’s reached a boiling point.
Ahead of the meeting, Augusta Commission member Sean Frantom posted on Facebook, saying Tuesday would be a defining day in Augusta.
“We have a tremendous responsibility to take care of the citizens of Richmond County,” he said.
Frantom said that with a contract, the city could hold Gold Cross more able and put new measures in place for better service.
“We can’t put the citizens’ lives at risk anymore,” said Commissioner for District 10 Wayne Guilfoyle.
Another commission with no Gold Cross contract. Both sides started working on this contract in April of 2022. There’s never been a formal contract between Gold Cross and the city, only a written agreement.
Commissioner for District 3 Catherine Smith-McKnight added, “I don’t blame Gold Cross for being frustrated because we keep doing this. We need to make a decision today.”
They estimate about 11,000 people didn’t pay in 2022.
Commissioner for District 4 Alvin Mason said: “We have a high indigent population, and we have a high Medicare and social security population, and those bills that come in only a fraction of that is actually paid to Gold Cross, and we understand that.”
Along with unpaid bills, Gold Cross also points to the rising cost of doing business and hiring employees. Some commissioners want to bring all of that in-house and cut Gold Cross out altogether. But that plan isn’t in place.
Guilfoyle said: “If Gold Cross walks, we are going to be sitting without an ambulance, and we are going to have a lot of our citizens away and die.”
“People should be concerned that we lose ambulance service because there’s no backup plan. Gold Cross is the sole provider here,” Augusta Commission member Brandon Garrett said earlier.
Since part of the problem for Gold Cross is the number of people who use the service but don’t pay, here’s a look at the statistics:
Richmond County
- 2020 - 11,122 patients didn’t pay, 41%
- 2021 - 9,285 patients didn’t pay, 39%
- 2022 - Estimated 11,000 patients will not pay, 50%
Columbia County
- 2020 - 1,517 patients didn’t pay, 15%
- 2021 - 1,428 patients didn’t pay, 12%
- 2022 - Estimated 1,800 patients will not pay, 16%
Medicaid
- The Richmond County population on Georgia Medicaid is 28% The population statistics are of ages 65 and older at 13%
- The Columbia County population on Medicaid is 10% The population statistics are of ages 65 and older at 12%
When we asked if Gold Cross is going to stick around and wait for that meeting, their response was that they were going to have to discuss it.
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