County board approves hiring of new ambulance service

By Rupert Howell
Lifeguard EMS will be the new ambulance service for Panola County beginning July 1 following action by the Board of Supervisors Monday morning.
Supervisors advertised for proposals after a recommendation from the Emergency Management Coordinator following consistent complaints of long response times by the current EMS service.
Seven proposals were submitted with representatives from Batesville and first responder agencies asked to sit in on meetings and discussions surrounding the proposals.
Lifeguard’s bid included a $274,800 annual subsidy from the county and allows $4 per call to be returned for Panola County E-911 dispatching their services with an initial three-year contract with an optional two years.
During Monday’s meeting District Three Supervisor John Thomas said, ”I think the city (Batesville) ought to have to pay for their percentage of cases,” where a large number of ambulance calls originate due not just to population, but being where most hospital, clinic, nursing homes and doctors’ offices are located.
The contract, which was sent back and forth through the past weekend from Lifeguard to Board President Cole Flint, County Administrator Kate Victor and Emergency Coordinator Daniel Cole, also includes a penalty of $1,000 per month for average response times longer than 25 minutes 80 percent of the time after the initial 60 days.
Cole said Panola County E-911 dispatchers were currently undergoing training to get certified in EMS dispatching. The current ambulance service, MedStat, did their own dispatching.
The contract states three 24-hour trucks available with one peak hour truck and two reserve trucks.
Headquartered in Alabama, the company provides service in seven states including Lamar County in south Mississippi, several Alabama locations with others in Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Supervisors voted for their attorney to send a letter to the City of Batesville requesting assistance for compensating the ambulance service either monetarily or through in-kind services.