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When Seconds Count

Chris Hawes reports

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FORT WORTH — The price of an ambulance ride in many Tarrant County communities is going up. The question is: Who should pay for it?

Medstar is giving its 14 member cities the choice of either paying for new ambulances or letting the burden fall to their citizens. For suffering cities, both are bitter pills to swallow.

Last May, Nancy Millikin's baby suddently turned blue. "Her eyes were rolling back in her head and she was shaking all over, seizing," Millikin recalled. "It was an hour — I think 57 minutes — by the time someone came."

Medstar found itself under fire for cases involving slow response times. Since then, Medstar has improved service by strategically stationing ambulances around the area and shifting manpower to peak times.

"They're doing very well," said Forest Hill Fire Department Chief Pat Ekiss.

But Medstar's ambulance service still falls just short of its goal of getting to 90 percent of life-threatening calls in less than nine minutes. That's why the company is boosting its fleet.

"The new plan would add an additional five ambulances per day to the system," said Medstar Executive Director Jack Eads.

There is, however, a catch: Medstar doesn't have the money to pay for the additional vehicles and manpower.

Eads told representatives of the service's 15 Tarrant County member cities they can either increase subsidies paid to Medstar or let their citizens bear the burden directly.

"I think it's going to be a struggle for every citizen we serve," said Chief Ekiss. "We're facing a deficit; we expect the economy to worsen."

As cities decide whether to increase subsidies to Medstar, Burleson's Deputy City Manager Paul Cain is making a demand of his own. "I think we'd want some guarantee that 90 percent would be reached," he said. "If not, there would be some payback."

Under Cain's proposal, Medstar would have to prove it is getting to patients quickly — or return additional fees to the cities. That, however, may prove close to impossible after the money has already been spent for new equipment.

Medstar's plan is for the increased fees to take effect starting in October.

About half the cities served by Medstar currently pay nothing into the system; ambulance bills are already higher in those communities.

E-mail chawes@wfaa.com