Home | Featured | Politics | Kristen Brown says "we shouldn't have zero tax subsidy set in stone"

Kristen Brown says "we shouldn't have zero tax subsidy set in stone"

Source: Posted: 18.Jul, 2012 10:41:00 | Last Accessed: 2013-05-19 11:15:09 |

22 Comments Article Rating:0 | Read: 3479 | New today: 1 | Mobile Version

When we're talking about life and death, we shouldn't have zero tax subsidy set in stone. The Fire Department, my team and I have been immersed in our service requirements and evaluating providers for five months now.

The Fire Department responds to every life threatening emergency medical services call (over 3,000 a year) along with our ambulance provider and is most often first on the scene to provide emergency medical services.

We draw upon the Fire Department's years of experience as well as all of their years of experience as our ambulance provider prior to contracting to CRH. The other members of the Board of Works have spent significant time evaluating the options. Our due diligence has been extensive.

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Comments (22 posted)

Phil Swaim 18/07/2012 12:59:44

As we learned last night, the CRH has a zero subsidy plan too, but it dramatically decreases the quality of service, availability of service, and response time. It's simply unacceptable. Zero subsidy is nice, but since we already have zero subsidy providors who will provide better care and serivce than CRH is proposing with even their expensive proposal, we now ought to ignore CRH in bidding and focus on the differences between the other vendors to ensure highest quality. At this rate, we will get better quality for a fraction of the cost we pay CRH now.

And it's all an open process, unlike how the CRH was chosen years ago.

-4

Politics 101 23/07/2012 15:48:47

Phil, when have you EVER needed an ambulance and not got one. What are the SPECIFIC quality of care issues you refer to? Cite them please!

-2

Phil Swaim 23/07/2012 21:07:35

I believe I have cited them. Public meetings. City Council meetings. If attended them, you would hear the lower quality of care CRH is proposing. Of course, they are now back peddling, revising, and raising the subsidy on their proposal. Raising the subsidy? Like that's going to make things better? It's like they don't want the service, and as we found out at the City Council, they frankly would rather not offer ambulance services.

I say, why not do the Hospital a favor and save them more than 2 million dollars a year by not having an ambulance service? Instead of subsidizing them, we will save them cost. Seems like a win-win to me. We get great quality from one of the other providers and pay WAY less than we currently do or under CRHs still expensive program.

-8

Ace 25/07/2012 08:13:41

I know it's hard to imagine that a man whose idea of a good public policy debate is passing around drawing of public officials being gutted isn't offering any evidence-based commentary.

Phil is what he is, he can't help it. We should be blaming ourselves, not him, for giving anyone the false impression that he has enough credibility to be worth replying to.

Sweep Swaim Out 23/07/2012 21:36:20

No Phil all you have cited is the regurgitated crap from Kristen and Fake Fye on the Board of Works. What are the QUALITY OF CARE issues involving CRH? Answer: There AREN'T ANY. When has CRH missed a call in Columbus? When has someone gone without an ambulance? NEVER is the answer. This response time issue was created by Kristen and Roger Johnson as a self-serving reason to get rid of the hospitals ambulance service.

I would not expect you to know this Phil because you believe everything that comes out of Kristen's pie-hole. I don't care at this point who provides ambulance service as long as quality of care DOES NOT suffer. Deriding the hospital over a bunch of made up crap is patently unfair and PHIL I have BEEN AT THE MEETINGS (GUESS WHO).

Most of the people in this community are NOT in favor of throwing the hospitals ambulance service out. This was conceived by Kristen Brown and Roger Johnson as political payback. Johnson has had an ace to grind with CRH since he was fired from Bartholomew County Hospital decades ago and Kristen has been drinking to much tea with Jamie Johns. Enough is enough. Kristen is vindictive as hell and is going after anything and everything that has Fred Armstrong's name attached to it.

Admin 26/07/2012 05:58:23

They said Pie-Hole... :) Classic

-4

Phil Swaim 25/07/2012 00:37:49

You definitely are out of the loop and the know.

The quality issues that exist are not currently happening, but are the result of the current CRH proposal. I believe this is the third time I have said this.

CRH HAS CONFIRMED THEMSELVES THAT THEY ARE GOING TO CUT THE AMBULANCES TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY TO GET A 0 SUBSIDY and THEY WERE GOING TO REDUCE THE AVAILABILITY OF AMBULANCES TO MAKE HOSPITAL TRANSFERS INSTEAD OF USING THEIR TRANSPORTS. This is a major blow to quality.

I'm so glad you have talked everyone in this community one by one to know whether they support this or not. (sarcasm)

Tea time with Jaime Johns? Don't even get me going on how laughable that comment is.

If it has Armstrong's name attached to it, it's worth turning over the rock and seeing what's going on. There has been SOOOO much damage to this city by that administration that I am glad someone is actually looking into the secrecy and the total lack of transperancy that was the Armstrong Administration. We're blessed as a City to have him out of office.

-5

Politics 101 25/07/2012 10:56:56

Being called "out of the loop" by Phil Swaim should be an honor. In Phil's world, only he and Mayor Brown are in the know.

The quality issues that exist are not currently happening, but are the result of the current CRH proposal.

This is the most non-sense comment to come from Swaim in quite sometime but even Phil is having a hard time spinning some "what if's" from FACT.

FACT: There are NO PRESENT QUALITY OF SERVICE ISSUES. Period.

SPUN: Quality of service issues exist based on what might happen with a -0- subsidy based on the hospitals proposal. In Swaim's world (and Mayor Brown's) an outside company with no experience in Columbus and Bartholomew County can provide excellent service with NO quality of care issues with NO subsidy. I think Phil has been drinking the tea with Kristen not with Jamie Johns but we already know that.

Some of us Phil are tired of re-inventing the wheel so Mayor Brown can be vindictive toward anything signed off on by the previous administration for the purpose of making points.

Sweep Swaim Out 25/07/2012 10:26:43

Oh Phil, you are such a spin-meister for Mayor Harvard. Mayor Brown* wants to start up her own ambulance service with $10.00 an hour civilian Paramedics (NEVER HAPPEN) and rented trucks with a start-up of $1.5 million a year and your and Kristen's concern is what MIGHT HAPPEN if the hospital takes some non-emergency runs in one ambulance. You make me sick. You are just a big a liar as Mayor Harvard.

NO ONE CAN OPERATE A -0- SUBSIDY 911 AMBULANCE SERVICE WITH MAYOR ORACLES PLAN AND MAKE MONEY. NO ONE. THERE WILL BE NO PROFIT. PERIOD.

With this HUGE money proposal by Mayor Harvard, why not just continue paying CRH for the HIGH QUALITY SERVICE THEY CURRENTLY PROVIDE?

Oh, I almost forgot, the answer is YOU, MAYOR ORACLE and her BOYFRIEND ROGER JOHNSON hate CRH!

Phil Swaim 25/07/2012 16:25:48

And you happen to know it is impossible how? Rural metro does it all around the state and they have been in the business for quite a while. It apparently works. And there have been no quality issues from other communities with Rural Metro, that have been brought forward. Maybe someone knows better, but so far all the communities Rural Metro serves are happy with the service.

-4

SICK OF SWAIM 25/07/2012 17:51:03

And you happen to know it is POSSIBLE how? Phil, you are uneducated when it comes to this subject, just like your heroine the mayor. Do you have proof that Rural Metro or any other private ambulance service IS MAKING MONEY in any other location with 911 ONLY AMBULANCES?

Do you have any proof that any other provider is currently operating in another municipality with the same specifications dictated by Mayor Oracle and Chief Hacker? 911 DOES NOT PAY WHICH IS WHY IT REQUIRES A SUBSIDY. AN AMBULANCE SITTING IDLE AT A FIRE STATION WAITING FOR AN EMERGENCY RUN IS NOT MAKING ANY MONEY.

If you and Oracle believe you can do this, I have some land in South Louisiana for sale.

Politics 101 25/07/2012 17:45:17

I believe Rural Metro has had some legal issues. Perhaps Phil could vet them for us.

Casper 25/07/2012 09:28:34

"CRH HAS CONFIRMED THEMSELVES THAT THEY ARE GOING TO CUT THE AMBULANCES TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY..."

That statement is not entirely accurate. "Cut" really isn't the correct terminology here. Their proposal involves using one of the 911 ambulances for a convalescent transport while the other ambulances cover that 911 area. It's more accurate to say that they want a little more freedom in use of the ambulances while not compromising 911 coverage.

If all 4 ambulances were currently very busy then I would see CRH's proposal being unreasonable but they're not. There's room for coverage adjustment.

TIRED OF SWAIM 25/07/2012 12:25:10

Phil Swaim said

You definitely are out of the loop and the know.

How is this possible Phil? YOUR Mayor is supposed to have total transparency, ethics and above-board government. If we are to believe the crap that you spew we should ALL BE IN THE KNOW!

Don't give me this nonsense that we should go to the meetings. The meetings should come to us via the internet or cable TV. After all, this is what you and the software genius mayor promised. Maybe we should just trust the reporting by the Repugnant. No thanks!

Admin 26/07/2012 05:56:10

Ya what they said... :)

-3

IMPARTIAL OBSERVER 26/07/2012 22:37:11

Having worked with all of the providers that have turned in bids(except for the one that does not exist yet) i can tell you there is a definate difference in quality of care. The reason rural metro can have a zero subsidy is that they charge EVERY SINGLE RUN, whether it be basic or advanced, as an ALS run. This now is costing the patient almost double the price of a basic run.

Just thought you ought to know how we will be screwed over if Rural Metro gets the contract!

Politics 101 27/07/2012 13:16:07

Phil Swaim, unofficial advisor to Mayor Brown suggests Rural Metro would make an outstanding choice as ambulance provider. Swaim needs to get his facts together. Not only has Rural Metro had legal problems regarding illegal billing of Medicare you can check THIS QUALITY OF SERVICE ISSUE IN COLORADO:

(CBS/AP) DENVER - As the horror unfolded for police first on the scene of the Colorado theater massacre, the officers repeatedly sent out urgent pleas for more ambulances even as a two-man crew and their rig were idling just a few miles away. While some ambulances were quickly called to duty, it took dispatchers more than 20 minutes into the crisis to ask the Cunningham Fire Protection District and other nearby agencies to provide aid at the multiplex in suburban Denver.

Eleven minutes in, a first responder again barks: "Dispatch, get me some ambulances!" A coordinator replied that Rural/Metro — the private ambulance provider for the area that also declined comment on the response — was sending all available units in Aurora.

There's your quality of service Swaim. Now, you would actually throw CRH under the bus for this?

huh? 28/07/2012 09:17:14

So you're saying that by Rural/Metro sending all available units to help at this tragic event, they somehow have poor quality of service?

Granted, they probably had to cancel some nonemergency transports so I guess you could say they abandoned their customers.

Anyway, the event in Denver doesn't relate to us very well. They have significantly more ambulances in the area then we do/will have.

Politics 101 28/07/2012 14:03:42

Aurora is not Denver. Rural Metro has 14 ambulances for Aurora as the 911 provider. They sent 4 ambulances to the scene. Read it for yourself:

http://www.aurorasentinel.com/news/aurora-shooting-police-pleaded-for-ambulances/

huh? 29/07/2012 13:24:00

Again I ask, how does this situation directly or indirectly show their quality of care? It is not rural/metro's job to dispatch ambulance to the scene. Its the job of the 911 dispatchers. The article you provided specifically states that it is unknown whether or not more ambulances or a faster response would have made a difference. Besides, here another article thats states there was plenty of ambulances on the scene.

http://www.denverpost.com/theatershooting/ci_21168806/aurora-shooting-ambulances-available-but-many-went-unused

Politics 101 29/07/2012 17:12:15

Rural Metro had 14 ambulances for the Aurora area of which they sent 4 to the scene.

FROM THE DENVER POST:

Nearby private companies — American Medical Response and Action Care Ambulance Inc. — were called to back up nonrelated 911 calls but not to the scene. "We asked Rural /Metro where they wanted us, and they said we weren't needed," said Bill Wallace, president of Action Care, who said he had four ambulances in the city of Aurora at the time.

We can split hairs all day long but this is clearly a quality of service issue as it has been reported by CBS News, The Denver Post and the Aurora Sentinel. If you think not asking for help in a disaster, which is how I would describe this, is OK, we have a profound disagreement. Conversely, if you think 4 ambulances is enough for 50 victims, well, you are crazy!

-1

waiting game 13/08/2012 12:37:26

Let me start by educating Mr. Phil! 911 ambulances do not make profits. This is a know fact in the business. Which you have obviously never been in.

The only way Rural Death Row or any other private service for that matter can do it is because they anticipate getting the local convelecant runs to " subsidise" there loss in 911 I think its funny how you and several other people like Mayor Brown think you are playing some type of SIM city game with something you know nothing about.

As far as CRH lowering quality to make profit that is just silly! They are giving the mayor what she asked for, 3 dedicated trucks for the city! So if thats lowering quality you need to talk to your buddy about that.

That being said, if CRH doesnt get the contract it is there on fault! They should have already been doing the convelecant runs for all of Columbus instead of letting STAT and any other private company take all the business. Other private companys have been given meetings with discharge managers and ED management to take these runs for years. CRH ambulance management has helped with those meetings.

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