Some changes are coming to Sioux City’s ambulance service.
Siouxland Paramedics Executive Director Karen Van De Steeg says the company has started talks with the City of Sioux City to evaluate their options:
OC…… to the community. :08
Van De Steeg didn’t comment on what those specific options might be, but that Siouxland Paramedics hopes to transition emergency medical ambulance services to a more sustainable model by January 1st of 2018.
City Manager Bob Padmore says talks are in early stages, but one option could have the city taking over the service:
OC………..in Sioux City. ;17
Sioux City Fire Rescue operates an ambulance out of their Greenville station and responds to many medical calls.
Fire Chief Tom Everett says his department may have a bigger responsibility to respond to medical emergencies:
OC…..for the city. ;20
Everett says his department has 32 paramedics, 24 Advanced EMTs and 54 EMTs staffing the city’s seven fire stations.
They are often the first to arrive at the scene of a medical call:
OC………available to us. :18
Siouxland Paramedics currently handles patient transfer calls for several rural communities.
Sgt. Bluff Mayor Jon Winkel says he’s concerned about how that service will be handled if S-P-I is no longer providing it:
OC……..rural areas. ;18
Van De Steeg does not say that her company is going out of business at the end of the year or ending service.
She says the healthcare financing environment in Siouxland and across the country has become increasingly difficult inferring there’s issues with medicaid reimbursements:
OC……..taxpayer issue :19
Over 10,000 individuals are served by SPI every year.
