Judge: Talks with AMR went well

_{The Milam County Coalition held a meeting with American Medical Response on Aug. 30 resulting in AMR making several changes to services in the counyt.}

_{According to Milam County Judge Steve Young AMR promised better service during the meeting beetween Rockdale Mayor John King, Cameron Mayor Billl Harris, Young.} 

_{Young said AMR typically has nine paramedics and nine EMTs to man the three ambulances in the county, however, it currently has six paramedics to man the ambulances.}  

_{He said AMR agreed to pay more overtime to its current paramedics and offer a hiring bonus to fully staff the ambulances.}   

_{“At our insistence, AMR agreed to stop sending or “staging” Milam County ambulances to cover a Falls County shortage. This will help as well,” Young said. “Most importantly AMR wants to provide good, reliable service to the citizens of Milam County. AMR does not want to leave the county or walk away from the contract.”}  

_{He said AMR has agreed to review other possible options to provide better service, such as using telehealth to avoid dispatching an ambulance where there is really no emergency.  AMR has agreed to consider providing a “roving” paramedic that would not be tied to a specific ambulance providing better usage of the position.} 

_{AMR has agreed to consider better utilization of our free air ambulance service to supplement ground transportation. The parties have agreed to meet again within the next 30 days to further discuss these issues in the hope that we can find long term, sustainable solutions.}  

_{Like many issues, the ambulance problem is one of money. The service is truly not a profitable endeavor, for if it were, it would be easy to find a provider.}  

_{We have a 16-year history of service with AMR and it is the largest ambulance provider in the State. We have a great agreement with our air ambulance service that provides free air transport.  Combining these two entities with new technology, gives us a real opportunity to resolve this matter by providing a sustainable solution.  We are now making progress and I am convinced we will find a long-term solution.}