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By Editor Becky Watts
ZEBULON - Grady EMS recently conducted a weeks long assessment to determine where the most emergency calls come from in Pike County. During this time, ambulances were stationed outside of two of Pike County’s fire stations.
County Manager John Hanson advised Pike County Times last month that this assessment was ongoing and that Grady was looking for the best place to station its ambulances in order to serve those in need of emergency transportation.
History
Grady EMS was awarded a one year ambulance contract with the county in May because they gave the low bid of $275,000. The new year began on July 1st. Click here to read about the awarding of this contract.
Grady’s bid includes two ambulances that will be housed in Pike County on a 24 hour/7 days a week basis with a third ambulance available 12 hours a day, five days a week for non-emergency or other transports.
Assessment Results
County Manager John Hanson has worked with Grady throughout this assessment and kept the commissioners apprised of the situation as it has unfolded. Grady ambulances were stationed at the Concord, Hollonville, and Molena fire stations during the assessment.
According to the final results of the ambulance assessment, a majority of the emergency calls in Pike County are received from Zebulon and Concord with many calls for non-emergency or other transport coming from Molena during the day. Therefore, the decision has been made where to station ambulances.
The Zebulon station location has been on Highway 19 South of Dairy Queen from the beginning. The question was whether Grady wanted to find suitable locations in Concord or Molena or perhaps enter into a rental agreement with the county for fire station usage.
County Agreement
After discussion with Grady, County Manager Hanson advised that Station 5 (in Molena) will be used for the 12 hour ambulance. There is no need for bunks for this ambulance crew so the Molena Fire Department will be ideal. Hanson advised that Grady has agreed to pay $350 per month in rent to the county plus pay for all utilities including gas, electricity and water.
Hanson advised that the county already pays for utilities in this location so that is putting approximately $8,400 per year back in our budget. Pike County currently pays rent to the City of Molena for this Fire Department, and the City of Molena has used that rent money to buy needed items for their fire department facility. When asked about what this savings would be used for, Hanson said, “Pike County is going to put that rental money back into the fire department just like [the City of] Molena has done.”
That leaves the question about the placement of the remaining ambulance. At this time, Grady has looked at Station 1 (in Concord) and Station 2 (in Hollonville) but has not expressed an interest in renting those stations because they do not have bunk accommodations that would be needed. Hanson advised that Grady is also looking at a building in Concord at this time.
Closing
At the commission meeting tonight, County Manager Hanson advised commissioners that Grady EMS has expressed interest in using Station 5 in Molena for their ambulance that will be stationed there from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. Hanson is working with the county attorneys to draft an agreement. This agreement is expected to be in place by September 1st.
Hanson spoke to Molena Mayor Jay Garner last night to apprise him of this arrangement as well. Mayor Garner told Pike County Times, “We are in support of the arrangement and are glad to have the increased activity at our fire station.” Garner said that this should help this end of the county and not just Molena.
How Pike County Times Got This Story
I received an email about a month ago asking why Grady ambulances were sitting at a couple of the Pike County Fire Stations. I began following up on this with County Manager Hanson and have followed it to completion. Keep an eye on Pike County Times for other Breaking News alerts!
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Update 8.25.15 at 11:30 p.m. : This article was updated to include Station numbers as the primary location identifier as well as the city in which the stations are identified. I also included that Station 2 (in Hollonville) has been examined by Grady as a possible location for ambulance placement.