JOHN COFFELTEditor

Coffee County Emergency Medical Service will provide standby ambulances for Bonnaroo 2024.

The service will return to offering two units for medical transports from the festival, following not providing the service last year due to staffing problems.

Coffee County Ambulance Authority voted 4-0 with Member Missy DeFord absent at during the Feb. 15 meeting to supply standing ambulances for the festival.

EMS Director Michael Bonner said Ambulance Authority Meeting that festival organizers told him that the festival preferred to have Coffee County Ambulances, as opposed to a private service.

Bonner said that Festival organizers.

“Staffing looks better,” Bonner told the members, noting that the last time the count provided ambulances two years, the county split time with private services.

“So we were able to cover it without jeopardizing our staffing, and it was kind of under our umbrella,” Bonner said that the private services billed Bonnaroo (or its contracted medical service provider) rather than have the county handle payment for the private services.

“That plan worked. The ones that I spoke with said they enjoyed it and would be glad to help us again,” Bonner said.

One stipulation members pressed was that the county could not guarantee that an advanced EMT unit be stationed at the festival.

Chairman of the Ambulance Authority Tim Stubblefield said that the reason the county didn’t supply ambulances last year was because of staffing problems.

“I don’t think it’s ever been a question of if they were going to pay us or not,” Stubblefield said. “We may have still have problems with personnel, but by having Vandy and all these others running, we don’t have to have as many as we have in the past. And still work our crews but they are not totally there.”

Payment to the county has been something of a sore spot for the festival over the last couple of years since the county implemented a ticket fee. Bonnaroo has since declined to pay the county anything over that fee amount.

Bonner said that event medical provider, National Event Services (NES) would be the organization that would refund the county overtime pay for its employees working Bonnaroo.

During Bonnaroo 2023, however, according to local law enforcement, the organizers baulked at paying county deputies moonlighting to help Manchester Police Department during the festival.

“When Manchester was going to hire – we were going to let our guys work (Bonnaroo),” Commissioner Frank Watkins said. “They didn’t like that. And they had a fit over that and said we’re not going to pay Manchester because they are county deputies.”

Bonner said that the pay for overtime would come from NES, not Bonnaroo.

“Obviously, I would confirm that we would do it like we’ve always done it,” Bonner said. “We bill NES, he cuts me a check and what he works out with Bonnaroo is between him and Bonnaroo.”

Bonner said that was the way St. Thomas’ EMS service handled payment last year for providing service during the festival.

“If we don’t do it, they are going to have to pay somebody. It might as well be us,” Bonner said.

Ambulance Authority Member Dr. Jay Trussler’s motion stipulated that if all the associated costs were covered that the county provide the ambulances.

“I’m all for a medic being able to go out there and make some extra money if they want to,” Trussler said.

Authority Member Dr. Jeff Keele questioned if the county would be overly burdened by providing ambulances?

Bonner replied, “I don’t see overly. Obviously, you have someone call out sick, you can’t plan for that. But that’s day-to-day operations. Bonnaroo understands that if something really ugly happens then we may have to pull them.”

A second point of concern for Keele was that the county might not have an extra available Advanced Life Support unit to provide.

The county, like ambulance services nationwide, suffers from not havening enough paramedic and advance life support certified staff. The recently hired staff, all basic EMTs will be required to enroll in advanced classes.

Trussler noted that NES staffs a premiere mobile medical facility onsite during the festival. He guessed that in the event that a transport were needed, a Basic EMT might could swap places with an NES medic for the transport.

“There is care being rendered (on site),” Trussler said. “It’s not like being at someone’s home and needing an ALS ambulance. I’d like to see the more advanced ALS ambulances everywhere.”

He agreed that the county should be covered too.

Stubblefield noted that the county should covered first with ALS units.

Keele pushed, “If we are in a bind and don’t have enough ALS ambulances, I don’t want to be forced to have an ALS unit out there if it’s going to short us.”

Last year, Coffee County Ambulance Authority unanimously decided at the April 20, 2023 meeting to not enter into a contract with NES.

Bonner reported in 2023, that the service has five empty paramedic positions. “(We have) five full time openings, they all need to be medics,” he said. “We’re starting to hire (basic EMTs and advanced EMTs) and we’re just going to have to train them and get them through school.”

As of February 2024, Coffee County EMS has seven full-time openings, according to Bonner’s monthly report. Shift coverage was better for January with available crews staying at 3.5 to five on duty for the entire month.

“I happy with that,” Bonner said. “It’s still not great but absolutely in the right direction.”

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.