Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Sedgwick County could be changing in the future. The Wichita city council voted 3-2 at their June 21 meeting to terminate the current agreement that existed between Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita regarding EMS services inside Wichita. However, four votes among the city council were needed to make any change in this agreement. Mayor Longwell and Councilman Clendenin were absent from this meeting. Unless the city council meets again by June 30, this annual agreement will renew automatically July 1. I expect, and hope, that the renewal of this agreement will happen.
Under this agreement that has been renewed annually since 2003, the county provides county-wide EMS services across this county. No change will occur this year, but I expect that the provision of EMS services is likely to be under public discussion during the next 12 months. The city council discussed opening up non-emergency patient transportation to private companies inside the city June 21. This change, if it occurs, could force major issues in the way that EMS operates providing both emergency and non-emergency transports.
Why is this important? In 2014 EMS responded to over 60,000 requests for service and transported more than 40,000 patients. Both of these figures are growing. Roughly $3 million of the EMS budget is paid for with county property tax revenue. This is almost 20 percent of the costs of operating this department with 175 budgeted personnel. The rest of the county’s EMS funding comes from private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and private payment. This financial structure could be forced to change significantly depending upon the possible changes in patient transport that are being considered.
I have supported this gradual expansion of EMS services in Sedgwick County and I believe that the system is operating well. This is particularly true since EMS operates well with both law enforcement and the fire departments in our county. I continue to work for an expansion of EMS resources in both west Wichita and also western Sedgwick County. During the last eight years I have participated in at least four new EMS station openings. Two of these openings involved replacement of old, inadequate facilities near two of our major Wichita hospitals. This has all occurred at a time when call volume and demand for EMS response by the public continues to grow.
Wichita citizens who have an opinion about EMS and these services provided inside Wichita may want to share their thoughts with their elected representatives, and this certainly includes me. While the focus this week was on the discussion and vote by the Wichita city council, the county-wide provision of EMS remains a county responsibility. As the county commissioner for the western part of Sedgwick County I am always interested in hearing the thoughts, concerns, and questions from everyone in my district, as well as all of the citizens and residents of Sedgwick County concerning EMS or any other county service. My contact information is listed below.
