Evergreen would consider ambulance expansion

Evergreen Fire Rescue would be interested in providing ambulance service in Kalispell if the city decides to get out of the ambulance business.

Kalispell — facing a budget shortfall in its fire department because of a new contract with firefighters — is considering outsourcing its ambulance service and Evergreen Fire Rescue has been mentioned as a prime candidate.

Evergreen, Kalispell's next-door neighbor, already is a backup ambulance provider for Kalispell.

"Yes, we would be interested and would consider it," Jack Fallon, board chairman of Evergreen Fire Rescue, said of expanding its ambulance service into Kalispell.

Kalispell City Manager Jane Howington is looking into closing down Kalispell's city-run ambulance service as a way to trim at least six firefighters' jobs and address a predicted $690,000 fire budget shortfall over the next three years.

Kalispell is the only one of the seven largest cities in Montana that provides in-house ambulance service.

Either switching ambulance service to nearby government entitities such as Evergreen or Whitefish or seeking bids from a private ambulance provider have been proposed by Kalispell.

"Last summer, we had discussions when they [Kalispell] were doing an informal request for proposals," Fallon said. His general understanding is that "there's not enough volume [in Kalispell] for these others to come in," he said, noting it would probably take Evergreen and Kalispell combined to make it worthwhile for private ambulance companies.

Among the companies involved in the discussions were Missoula Emergency Services and American Medical Response, Fallon said.

The board for Evergreen Fire Rescue would have to make sure serving Kalispell full time doesn't jeopardize service to its current service area before taking on added responsibility.

As the backup ambulance provider for Kalispell, Evergreen Fire Rescue is called when the Kalispell Fire Department can't make it to calls.

Fallon said Evergreen's service calls into Kalispell have picked up quite a bit since the new 911 dispatch center opened last fall. The center calls the nearest available agency if the closest ambulance isn't available.

Evergreen responds to Kalispell calls an average of every other day, Fallon said, but sometimes gets multiple Kalispell calls in a day. "We're busier than we thought we would be," he said.

Evergreen Fire Rescue currently has a budget deficit, which is one of the reasons it would consider serving Kalispell full time.

Through March 28, Evergreen's ambulance fund is $23,000 in the hole for the current fiscal year. It has used cash reserves to make up the difference. Evergreen has $47,000 in cash reserves, Fallon said, adding he would like that to be around $80,000.

Evergreen's cost per run for ambulance service is cheaper than Kalispell and other local ambulance services.

Evergreen charges $575 for non-emergency basic life support calls or $600 for emergency basic life support calls. The charge is $700 for each advanced life support call.

In comparison:

• Kalispell charges $550 for non-emergency basic life support calls or $700 for emergency basic life support calls. Non-emergency advanced life support calls cost $600, emergency advanced life support calls are $880 and major trauma calls cost $1,032.

• Whitefish charges $700 for all basic life support calls. It charges $830 for advanced life support calls and $1,100 for major trauma calls.

• Bigfork charges $700 for basic life support calls and $950 for advanced calls.

• Three Rivers, a private company that serves Columbia Falls and surrounding areas, charges $760 for basic and $960 for advanced calls.

Each provider also levies per-mile charges: Whitefish $12; Evergreen $13; Kalispell $14; Three Rivers $14 and Bigfork $16.50.

Private ambulance providers in Butte, Bozeman, Helena and Missoula refused to divulge information about their costs.

Fallon said Evergreen is looking at ways to increase its revenue.

It can increase its per-run charges, but that alone likely won't do it because Medicare and Medicaid pay fixed fees for ambulance runs.

Although Evergreen Fire Rescue is a public entity funded by taxes, its ambulance service is funded entirely through user fees, Fallon said. It has 25 part-time employees, including 15 emergency medical technicians and 10 paramedics.

These employees work 28 to 36 hours per week and do not get health insurance, although they do accrue sick and vacation time. EMTs are paid $8 an hour and paramedics $15 an hour. "We know we can't afford full-time people," Fallon said.

By comparison, Kalispell firefighters' pay would range from $16.83 to $27 an hour under the new contract.

Whitefish City Manager Chuck Stearns said he doesn't know if Whitefish would be interested in serving Kalispell. "We've never discussed it. It seems a little far-fetched that we'd respond down there," he said.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.