Ambulance ordinance strengthened

By By Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
The city is putting some teeth into its ambulance ordinance in the hopes of putting to end any controversy surrounding both emergency and non-emergency services.
Last year, the city signed an exclusive contract with County EMS to provide ambulance services within Hartselle. The agreement gave County EMS the right to provide all both emergency and non-emergency services in exchange for the provider keeping two ambulances within the city at all times.
However, County EMS officials have complained other services have been answering calls in the city. Most of those calls came from assisted living facilities or transferring patients to and from the hospital.
To combat that problem, the city has added fines of $500 and up to six months in jail per incident. Mayor Dwight Tankersley said he thinks the changes will prevent other providers from answering calls in the city.
County Attorney Larry Madison sent a letter to the other ambulance services letting them know of the changes. It would not effect what ambulances could respond to a large emergency that requires more than County’s two ambulances.
County EMS was the only ambulance providers that responded to the city’s original request for proposals a year ago.