Ambulance Service

In the latest back and forth over the degree to which Harford County government will have a measure of authority over the local volunteer fire and ambulance service, a good deal has been made over the words "coordination, command, control and the oversight. " Such is the wording of an executive order issued earlier this month under which the county government would gain oversight responsibility for what to date have been essentially a conglomeration of a dozen private clubs that provide a vital public service.

Harford County's fire and EMS service is a mess. As one Old-Timer used to say, "Rome wasn't built in a day. " Nor was the mess that fire and EMS service has become. Let's get this straight before we go any further: This is not an attack on the men and women who have dedicated their lives to helping their fellow Harford County residents at their times of greatest need. The service they continue to provide in the face of daunting challenges is terrific. Some of our colleagues, family members, friends and neighbors are and have been volunteers in the fire and EMS service.

SEARCHING for ways to pay for growing demand on its strained paramedics-ambulance service, an Anne Arundel task force recently considered charging an impact fee on developers of nursing homes and other group living facilities for seniors. The same idea surfaced in Carroll County discussions. There's no question that the growing segment of older residents disproportionately increases demand on emergency medical services; local demand is magnified by concentrations of seniors in group living facilities.

The Harford County volunteer fire and ambulance service has the county government in a tight spot with regard to finances. In addition to $2.6 million a year the county government has been providing a loosely organized coalition of private, not-for-profit fire and ambulance companies to provide paid ambulance crews in some communities, three of the private fire and ambulance services with the largest territories in terms of population, calls for...

The cost of being transported by a city ambulance to a hospital is going up -- but not as much as originally proposed.Baltimore's Board of Estimates yesterday unanimously approved an increase in fees from $75 to $150 for basic ambulance service, and from $100 to $250 for advanced life support transport.Two months ago, the Baltimore Fire Department, which operates the ambulance service, proposed increasing both fees to $475, the maximum acceptable level under federal guidelines, to ease the service's strain on its budget.

A proposal to impose a fee for ambulance service -- at least for patients with health insurance -- has been rejected by the County Council amid uncertainty about how the measure would be implemented. However, the idea proposed last year by County Executive Janet S. Owens will remain under study by the administration, which is studying such concerns as the cost of billing, the legality of seeking fees only from some users, and elderly riders' receiving bills and worrying about paying for the service.

Baltimore's fire chief has given up on a controversial idea to privatize the city's ambulance service, pleasing the heads of unions representing paramedics who warned such a move could cost lives.Chief Herman Williams Jr., who headed a board that examined the proposal, said through a spokesman yesterday that a private company could not provide emergency response cheaper than the city does for $8 million a year."Based on bids submitted, there is no cost-savings to privatize the ambulance service," said Battalion Chief Hector L. Torres, a Fire Department spokesman.

The Carroll County Firemen's Association, in an effort to improve ambulance service in north Carroll, has allocated $69,000 to pay for emergency medical service positions at the Manchester and Lineboro volunteer fire departments.The money makes it possible for Manchester to continue to provide weekday ambulance coverage and will allow Lineboro to ensure that such coverage is available in its service area.Over the past five years, most of Carroll's 14 volunteer fire companies have found it necessary to hire emergency medical service workers to provide ambulance service during daytime hours, when volunteers frequently aren't available.

INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS of four volunteer fire companies to charge for ambulance runs this year underscores an inevitable change in the delivery of emergency medical services in Carroll County.Sooner rather than later, the other 10 volunteer companies will have to charge for their ambulance runs, even if the membership is divided over such fee-for-service operations. That will have a serious impact on the philosophy of volunteer fire/emergency service that has prevailed in Carroll for more than a century.

The squabble over billing for ambulance services flared again Monday, when the Carroll County Firemen's Association gave the Reese station 30 days to rescind its decision not to charge for emergency medical service or risk losing county funds, officials said yesterday.In February, the Reese membership voted contrary to the county commissioners' recommendation that fire companies bill residents' insurance companies for ambulance service. Eleven of the county's 14 fire companies have begun the billing.

For many years, the officers of the various private volunteer fire and ambulance companies that provide a valuable public service to Harford County have strenuously resisted any financial or strategic oversight by the Harford County government. This is not to say that the volunteer companies are somehow rogue with regard to the very high level of services they provide. The ambulance service is under the strict supervision of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, and the fire side of the volunteer companies is under similar strict training regimens for the people who respond to calls.

Sometime this year, the BWI Marshall Airport fire and rescue department will begin billing people for ambulance rides to the hospital. The move, dictated by the General Assembly last year, follows a statewide trend to try to recover some emergency medical costs from insurance companies. Montgomery County, the state's most populous jurisdiction, began charging Jan. 1. "It's become pretty standard in the aviation industry and in EMS in general," said Paul Wiedefeld, the airport's executive director.

In the latest back and forth over the degree to which Harford County government will have a measure of authority over the local volunteer fire and ambulance service, a good deal has been made over the words "coordination, command, control and the oversight. " Such is the wording of an executive order issued earlier this month under which the county government would gain oversight responsibility for what to date have been essentially a conglomeration of a dozen private clubs that provide a vital public service.

Anne Arundel police have charged a Lothian man with attempted first-degree murder in the stabbing of a 50-year-old man with whom police say he was acquainted. Jerome Otto Waters Sr., 55, of the 5200 block of Sands Road, also faces assault and reckless endangerment charges in connection with the incident that occurred early Saturday near his home. Officers, who were called to the 1300 block of Mount Zion-Marlboro Road at 5 a.m., soon determined that the assault had taken place in the 5400 block of Sands Road, near Patuxent River Park and in the same Lothian area.

The best and worst of the volunteer fire and ambulance service in Harford County were on full public display over the past week, bringing into sharp focus exactly what is at stake as the county moves ahead with plans to evaluate the way fire, rescue and ambulance services are provided. Last Friday, when a tornado ripped through the part of Fallston near the intersection of Belair Road and Route 152, volunteers were out in force securing roadways, cordoning off dangerous areas and beginning the process of cleaning up even as lightning was still in the sky and the weather remained unstable.

In a way, the problem with Harford County's ambulance service, which appears to be running in the red these days, according to a recent presentation to the Harford County Council, is emblematic of the problems facing the U.S. health care system. The short version: There's a lot of money involved and a lot of people who aren't directly involved in providing health services have a financial stake in what's going on. The long version is complicated and mind-numbingly detailed, but worth taking the time to understand.

The County Commissioners and leaders of Carroll's volunteer firefighters association reached partial agreement yesterday on the touchy question of billing insurance companies for ambulance service.The commissioners agreed to give the Carroll County Volunteer Firemen's Association a year to implement a proposal from Robert Cumberland Jr., association second vice president.But the association did not agree to support the commissioners' plan to have the county go forward with a proposal of its own if Cumberland's proposal fails.

Since its founding in 1948, the Reese & Community Volunteer Fire Company has helped pay for its battles to extinguish fires and save lives through ham and oyster suppers, bingo games, Christmas tree sales and a six-day carnival generating thousands of dollars each year. But a proposal to start billing customers for ambulance service threatens to upset this fund-raising equation and create a rift between Carroll County's volunteer fire companies. Like other communities across the country facing growing populations and dwindling numbers of volunteers, Carroll County is asking all its fire companies to charge fees for ambulance calls.

The thing that's odd about Harford County Executive David R. Craig seeking access to the financial records of the volunteer fire companies that serve the county as a condition of getting government funding is that it's taken so long. It's been decades since the volunteer fire companies that serve Harford County have been obliged to arrange carnivals and other fundraisers largely because a substantial portion of the volunteer fire service's money comes from government and government-enabled sources.

An article in the Aug. 12, 1911 edition of The Argus reported on damage from a severe storm. Lightning struck the home of Mr. Emil Fisher, Smithwood avenue, last Friday night, causing damage of several hundred dollars. The bolt struck the roof near the chimney and entered the house, ripping the plaster off several rooms. No one was injured. The home of Mr. Fisher was struck by lightning about six weeks ago in the same place. *****' Rabbits and partridges are said to be more plentiful than for a number of years.