The Ross County Commissioners aired a long discussion on problems with EMS delays among the townships Monday, and Kevin Coleman was there.
Sheriff George Lavender began the hour-long roundtable among various township, fire department, and ambulance personnel. He said his officers are being criticized because they show up for medical emergencies, but township response time for Emergency Medical Services can be as much as an hour later or more.
One example mentioned was an injury at Kenworth waiting an hour to be transported two minutes to the hospital across the highway.
With differences in budgets and pay rates, or being only volunteer, it was discussed that only two or three of the bigger townships are doing most of the work in the county, with increased call rates. The conversation was tense but not heated.
The consensus was that the commissioners would pay half of a fee for a consultant to study whether there should be a county-wide EMS service, or a few EMS districts, instead of each township operating on its own.
Jim Hatfield is president of the Ross County Trustee Association. He said he would call a meeting within two weeks and ask for them to fund the other half of an estimated $50,000 to $125,000 fee got either of two consultants.
Hatfield figures they would get a recommendation back in six to eight months.
Kevin Coleman covers local government and culture