London considers break from Madison County EMS

Madison County, like other counties, has for years sought to find a balance between quality ambulance and medical services at a cost that satisfies both rural and urban residents.

A proposal by the city of London to leave the Madison County Emergency Services District is the latest flashpoint and the first time the discussion has reached city council.

The city wants to withdraw from a long-time $3 million levy for countywide EMS services and replace it with a 2-mill version to fund its own, first-ever EMS department. London says the quality of service would be the same, response times would be better and property owners in the city would save about $35 per year for each $100,000 of home value.

Critics argue that if London leaves, it would jeopardize service to the rest of the county.

Similar discussions have taken place in Delaware County, where a county commissioner proposed having a single, countywide system that would replace several existing townshiprun EMS services.

And in May, voters in Jefferson Township in Fayette County approved a levy to create its own EMS operation — separate from a countywide system that critics said was inadequate and costly.

The debate can be divisive, pitting those who want less government and lower taxes against others who argue for the best care when heart attacks, stroke and other critical needs arise.

For London Mayor Patrick Closser, the proposal to break from the county is simple: “It’s an improved service for less money.” He believes his city’s fire department, with training, will match and exceed the specialized EMS services the county provides. But some disagree. The current system has overlaps but works well, said Chief Robert Olwin, head of the county district. He said his paramedics have received awards from the state for outstanding service.

“We know what we’re doing. We do this stuff on a regular basis,” Olwin said.

London accounts for about 60 percent of the district’s 3,600 emergency runs each year yet pays just a third of the district’s $1.8 million operating budget.

Without London, the county system, with 17 full-time and 30 part-time employees, would need to restructure. Olwin said it was too early to say how or if a higher levy would be needed.

London already has two vehicles equipped with advanced life support, but none that can transport a patient, London Fire Chief Todd Eades said.

If the proposal is put on the November ballot and voters approve it, “We’re actually increasing the amount of transport vehicles in our area by two,” Eades said.

Currently, the city fire department, with 12 fulltime and 28 part-time staff, is funded by a 0.5 percent income tax that would be supplemented by the proposed levy.

The county currently controls which vehicles are dispatched for medical emergencies, and London vehicles are rarely dispatched, said Eades, who maintains that fire chiefs, not EMS chiefs, have authority over dispatching for high-priority emergencies.

“We’ve expressed our disapproval, and it has not been resolved,” Eades said of Olwin. “I have attempted to reach out to him on multiple occasions and there has been no response. I don’t have to like you to work with you. I have a job to do. I don’t agree with his operational beliefs.”

Chief for 14 years, Eades conceded that breaking from the county might harm service to those outside the city, but he’s sworn to serve his residents first.

“They’re (county EMS district) going to lose about 30 percent of their revenue, and they’re going to have to restructure, but so are we,” Eades said. “It’s not something that we take as a light-hearted approach. We don’t want to see a reduction of services to surrounding areas.

But, Eades continued, “we also want to see that we’re getting the best service we can get right now. It’s a very tough balance.”

Eric Burgess, assistant chief for Delaware County EMS and regional representative of the Ohio EMS Chiefs Association, recently told a London audience that while a countywide system has merit, there is also room for compromise.

“These two systems can work really well together, and they can support each other,” he said after the meeting. “I don’t know that they’re just ready to do that, really.”