Local governments around Cass County had some inkling they would need to rethink their ambulance services next year.
Pride Care, the for-profit ambulance service that contracted with numerous townships and villages in southwestern Michigan, had sent a letter to governments in July saying it would likely discontinue running EMTs in the winter due to financial reasons.
But when Pride Care told the Cass County’s dispatch center on Aug. 17 that they would be gone in less than 15 hours, it caught many off guard.
“It’s not that that we weren’t aware that was going to happen, we had no idea that was going to happen within a 12-hour period of time,” said Wayne Township Supervisor Wayne Butts.
According to Butts, Dowagiac and many of the surrounding townships in north central Cass County had contracted with Pride Care for a decade or more with little to no issues.
Now, leaders in Cass County are scrambling to get medical services in place for areas affected by Pride Care’s retreat.
For the time being, a combination of other providers are fielding calls for the area including the Edwardsburg Ambulance Service and the Southwest Michigan Community Ambulance Service, often called SMCAS. Crews from Marcellus and Van Buren County are pitching in as well.
Butts is concerned about longer response times for ambulances, but given the situation, he’s appreciative of the medical response community stepping up to the plate.
“They have done a very good job of doing that, but it’s a delayed response because they’re coming from further away. The emergency people and the medical control board have put things together the best we can,” he said.
Pride Care CEO Patrick O’Neill did not respond to a phone call from WVPE and two executives listed on Pride Care’s website told WVPE they no longer worked for the company when asked for comment. It's unclear if Pride Care is merely ceasing operations in southwest Michigan or if the company is going bankrupt. A post to the company's social media pages said the service "will be ceasing operation" after more than 50 years in business.
Even though Pride Care broke its contract before its end date, Butts said Wayne Township likely won’t pursue legal action as they don’t think the company can afford any meaningful settlement.
County leaders are currently meeting to discuss long-term solutions, which Cass County administrator Matthew Newton said could comprise a few different options.
The townships could see if other ambulance companies in the area are open to servicing Cass County on a permanent basis or, Newton said, the county could look at levying a new millage, or tax, to raise funds for a new ambulance service that’s under the county auspices. Already, SMCAS is moving to put one ambulance in northern Cass County.
“We have two main focuses and obviously the first priority is… what’s an immediate solution and how do we approach that now to make sure we address those needs right at this time,” Newton said. “The other side is looking to the future and saying clearly there’s a need for something across the county. This affects half the county.”
But operating an ambulance service isn’t cheap. Butts said he’s been quoted at $900,000 per ambulance which totals more than $2.5 million if the area wants to maintain its level of three ambulances.
And Butts and Newton acknowledged a new millage would likely not take effect until a year or two down the line if it even passes. Yet with something as crucial as emergency medical services, there’s an added sense of urgency.
“If we don’t do something, the choice is: Do you want an ambulance or not?”
