MEETING TO FOCUS ON AMBULANCE SERVICE

Several citizens are planning a meeting tonight to form a group they hope will be able to improve ambulance response times in Cape Girardeau County.

"We are not trying to start a witch hunt with anybody. We are just looking at service for the people of Cape County," said Edward Frenzel of Jackson, one of the meeting organizers. "It all boils down to a concern about ambulance service in the county for us and our loved ones."

Frenzel, an licensed practical nurse now working as a case manager for Home Health Agency, and Sherry Koehler, an emergency medical technician, have organized tonight's 6:30 meeting at Drury Lodge.

"We hope anybody interested in the ambulance service to Cape County will attend the meeting," said Frenzel. "We hope to determine our scope and objectives at this first meeting."

Emergency ambulance service in Cape Girardeau County is provided by Cape County Private Ambulance Inc. under a contract with the county commission. Under the contract for 1993, the county subsidizes the ambulance service $156,000. In 1994, the subsidy will be $144,000.

Unlike many counties that fund ambulance districts with property tax levies, Cape Girardeau County pays for the ambulance service through its general revenue funds.

Under terms of the ambulance contract, Cape County Private Ambulance must respond within eight minutes to 90 percent of the emergency calls in Cape and Jackson.

Dr. John Russell, president of the company, said recently the company is complying with the eight-minute guideline 96 percent of the time.

But Frenzel said he and other citizens believe response times should be quicker, particularly in the out-county area.

He said one reason service is because the ambulance company is situated in Cape Girardeau on North Kingshighway.

When Highway 61 was being widened between Cape and Jackson, the ambulance service had an ambulance parked at the fire station in Jackson to ensure the construction wouldn't delay response time.

Frenzel said national standards suggest that responses should be made within 10 minutes. He said it's sensible to place ambulances throughout the county to ensure that everyone is within 10 minutes of an ambulance.

"It is going to take some type of logistical rearrangement of service or multiple services to give proper service to everyone in the county," Frenzel said. "Not everybody is getting the same ambulance protection for their tax dollars in this county."

Frenzel said one option might be to use rural fire protection district personnel as first responders. Another option would be to establish one or more ambulance districts in the county, which likely would require a separate tax levy.

One of the objectives of the committee will be to see whether there is a need for a separate tax.

Frenzel said the committee will study the matter for three to four months, then issue a report.

"We will present a series of recommendations to the Cape County Commission that we hope will prod some action to increase the effectiveness of ambulance service in this county," he said.