Oologah-Talala EMS District

NEWS from OTEMS

Providing excellence in Emergency Medical Services for Will Rogers Country

For Immediate Release

June 4, 2008

Contact John Wylie, Public Information Officer

918-629-9220

OTEMS ANNOUNCES ‘BONDS FOR LIFE’ ELECTION

Before a group of far-sighted residents created an ambulance district in January of 2000, Northwest Rogers County was an orphan which had endured decades of poor or no ambulance service. People died.

In just seven years, with only a 3-mill operating levy and no taxpayer funds for capital needs such as ambulances or stations, the Oologah-Talala Emergency Medical Services District (OTEMS) built the only full paramedic ambulance service in Rogers County. It provides timely service in all corners of the district.

“If you or a loved one are severely injured in an accident, or suffer a stroke or heart attack, it means that your chances of living are better in the OTEMS district than in many places,” said Jack Griggs, OTEMS board chair who has had a long career in emergency services.

 Oklahoma officials estimate that about 50 ambulance services have folded in the past few years across the state.

Cuts in Medicare payments for ambulance treatment and transport endanger ambulance service statewide. Medicare payments for each patient now fall about 17 percent below the actual cost of treating that patient, and the cuts are getting deeper.

Those cuts have a domino effect, which causes Medicaid and private insurance to also drop.

“It is awfully hard for a business to break even when its income is capped by federal law at 17 percent less than its cost for providing service,” said OTEMS Operations Director Andy Hudson. “And how does it get the money to replace worn-out equipment?

Fuel costs are soaring, but unlike airlines or freight companies ambulances cannot impose a fuel surcharge.”

State Rep. Chuck Hoskin, whose House district includes the northern Oologah and Talala areas of the OTEMS district, noted in an assessment of the recently concluded legislative session, "Oklahoma's rural ambulance services are in crisis. Skyrocketing fuel prices and equipment costs have forced dozens of rural ambulance services to close their doors over the last year alone. Our initiative to invest in this vital aspect of rural health care was blocked by selfish urban interests. This is a disappointment that unfortunately could be a matter of life and death."

The Indian Health Service, a federal agency, has admitted it owes OTEMS $40,000 or more for transfers to and from the Claremore Indian Hospital. But it hasn’t paid its bill for years, and you can’t sue the feds.

The OTEMS board and management have tried a variety of ways to fill the income gap without going back to the taxpayers for more money. These have included contracts to provide standby ambulance service at Will Rogers Downs and an aggressive program to handle transfers to and from hospitals and nursing homes.

However, the growing cost of fuel is making transfer service less profitable.

“The gap between income and costs has narrowed,” said Hudson. “It could become cost prohibitive.”

So after many months of study, the OTEMS board has decided to propose a bond issue which will raise $1 million to cover past and future capital expenditures and restore badly needed funds to the operating accounts. The bond issue will refinance certain capital expenses at about half the current interest rate.

Voters will decide the issue at a special election on Tuesday, August 26th. 

The ballot language would allow the district to levy 1.9 mills, but OTEMS board members, staff, attorney and bond advisor have calculated that the true amount will cost about 1.5 mills with an average monthly cost of under a dollar for the owner of a home valued at $100,000.

OTEMS taxpayers get a 50% discount on their out-of-pocket ambulance bills.

Even with the bond issue, the money taxpayers pay to fund OTEMS is low. Many cities or counties are imposing charges of $5 a month or more per water tap to subsidize ambulance service, with NO discount for those paying the tax.

“More important, consider what happens if you or a loved one suffers a stroke or heart attack; a severe accident at your home, farm or ranch; a hunting accident, or get caught in floodwaters or the aftermath of a tornado.

“Do you want paramedics to respond to save your or your loved one’s life? Or do you want to go back to the old days where ambulances simply hauled the sick and injured to the hospital with little or no treatment, greatly reducing the patient’s chance of survival.

“Make no mistake—this election will be about your life and the life of OTEMS,” Griggs said.

“If the vote is yes, we will have stable ambulance service for years to come at a cost to an average homeowner of around 95 cents a month—less than the cost of a cup of coffee most places.

“If the vote is no, OTEMS will have to start scaling back its services. It could be gone in as little as 18 months, again leaving the people of Northwest Rogers County orphans,” Griggs added.

That is why OTEMS is calling the issue “Bonds for Life”—continued lifesaving service for the residents of the OTEMS district by keeping OTEMS alive and healthy.

“We have worked hard to get the best ‘bang for the buck’ from the taxpayers’ money. But with the double whammy of continually declining Medicare payments and soaring diesel prices, we simply could not wait any longer.

“We believe we have earned the trust of our patrons and are asking them to invest a small amount so that we can continue to provide top-notch ambulance service for the area,” Hudson concluded.

OTEMS is a tax-supported district which provides emergency medical care to a 180-square mile area of Rogers County including Oologah, Talala and rural Claremore. It operates Advanced Life Support units (ALS) from stations in Oologah and just north of Claremore. For further information, visit our website at www.otems.com.

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OOLOGAH-TALALA EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DISTRICT

PO Box 165, Oologah, OK 74053-0165 - website: www.otems.com - 918-443-2350                

 Station 1: Historic Downtown Oologah  HQ - Station 2: Lowery Rd and Industrial Blvd.