JOHN COFFELTEditor

Several of the top healthcare providers at Unity Medical Center approached the Coffee County Ambulance Authority during the Aug. 15 meeting to brainstorm solutions to the hospital’s difficulty finding out of county critical care transfers.

Unity Chief Clinical Officer Gwen Myers said that the hospital often struggles to find transportation to out of county hospitals for patients, some of whom need critical care.

Coffee County Emergency Medical Services stopped providing out of county transports in 2019 due to lack of staffing. The pandemic intensified those shortages and while staffing has improved following a pay incentive, the service still lacks certified paramedics.

“I recognize that it’s because of manpower,” Myers said. “That’s been a huge issue for us even with all of the private (ambulance services). Sometimes we call 17-18 places. We’re going all the way to Alabama trying to get a patient to Nashville.”

One of the challenges in providing these transports is that the unit would require a certified paramedic on board to assist the patient in route. The county is currently seeking eight paramedics, with one Advanced EMT obtaining paramedic certification last week.

Myers said Unity has also shared the county’s troubles with staffing shortages.

“We’re just trying to figure a way to get out into the community and let it be known what the issues are,” she said.

Ambulance Authority Member Dr. Jay Trussler said COVID changed the game by creating a shortage of medical personnel.

“(The pandemic) created a void in the hospitals…said let’s take paramedics and put them in our ER,” Trussler said.

The meeting opened a new level of dialog between the county and the hospital. One possible, if unlikely, idea to immerge was a problematic suggestion that Unity nurses or paramedics could ride along in non-advanced life support ambulances.

In times when the industry was less troubled with liability concerns, nurses would regularly ride along in ambulances and police officers responding to emergencies will sometimes drive an ambulance to free the crew to assist with a patient.

Coffee County EMS Director Michael Bonner said under certain conditions area life flight medics can ride along with non-paramedic staffed ambulance crews when the weather is too bad to fly.

“We want to help,” Trussler said. “That person that needs transport could be any one of our family members or neighbors. We want that to happen and we want to help.”

Chairman of Ambulance Authority Tim Stubblefield called the meeting a good dialogue and suggested Unity return to continue the conversation.

EMS to lower Unity DOA transport charge

The Ambulance Authority okayed at the meeting Bonner to begin drawing up a contract with Unity that would lower the current charge for transporting deceased persons to the county’s morgue.

The use of Coffee County ambulances for the transports rare only occurring when area commercial ambulances are closed and when a funeral department is not being used.

The contract will lower county’s current charge of about $500 to match the Med Stat private ambulance service price, which was thought by Myers to be $320 – $350.

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.