Ambulance service relieves pressure from fire department

Staff Writer

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Elite Medical Transport, after months of administrative hassles, took pressure off the Portales Fire Department when they took over some medical transfers in October. Now, after months, they are doing better than ever.

According to Robert Campion, president of Elite Medical Transport, the service received a warm welcome from Roosevelt General Hospital, Portales and the area in general and has employed 10 Roosevelt County citizens as emergency medical technicians.

“That’s actually been the best part; we have so many high quality, well-trained EMTs in Portales,” said Campion.

The ambulance service, which was supposed to begin in August, said they ran into several logistical issues with the Public Regulation Commission delaying their beginning for two months.

The company has added one ambulance to the area.

Campion said over the last couple of months, since they were able to begin, they have seen patients’ transport bills go down by a minimum $19,000 now that they are being transported by ambulances rather than helicopters.

They said their average charge for a transfer to Lubbock is $1,200 compared to “the $20,000 it takes just to start the engine of the helicopter.”

The service was originally contracted to take pressure from the Portales Fire Department which still runs ambulances but handles a lot less transfers.

“It has taken some of the burden off of our local service,” said Portales Fire Chief Gary Nuckols.

He said with the exception of the start time, the service has seen no bumps in the road but several benefits.

He said it has given the fire department more time to function as a fire service and more time to train and teach their firemen.

“We’re looking at increased morale and lower levels of burnout,” said Nuckols.

He said this is particularly helpful because they have seen an increased number of 911 calls recently.

Though numbers were not readily available, he did say their overheads had decreased in many areas.

“This was the one missing ingredient for the health care system,” said Campion.

Director of Marketing for RGH Greg McFarland called Elite Medical Transfers a “wonderful asset to the hospital.”

“In the past, scheduling transfers for a patient could be difficult if all the ambulances in the area were tied up. It’s not an uncommon issue to see in rural health care,” McFarland said. “Now that they are here, we’ve seen these types of pains disappear.”