The Office of Emergency Medical Services is visiting with the Decatur County Board of Commissioners this week to gather data to determine the possibility of a joint EMS system between Decatur and Seminole counties.
Deciding if a joint EMS system is actually feasible will take some time, according to Office of EMS Deputy Director Ernie Doss. He said it could take up to four to six months before they have a report ready.
“It would be disingenuous for me to say we’ll have it at the end of April,” Doss said to the Decatur and Seminole County boards of commissioners at Tuesday’s county commission meeting. “We want to make sure we have adequate time to look at and prepare the information and make sure it is useful when it comes back to you.”
Doss said that the Office of EMS has never created a report for a joint county service before. While they are confident they can get it done within six months, he didn’t want to make any promises.
Gathering data through Decatur and Seminole counties’ systems, analyzing it and creating a pros and cons list for the feasibility of a joint EMS system will take time, Doss said.
Decatur County administrator Gary Breedlove said he was looking forward to the EMS report, despite it potentially taking half a year to arrive.
“We’re just pleased that after the delay on the weather that you’re down here and can give us a good objective look on the details sometimes you don’t see when you’re directly involved with the process,” Breedlove said. “The details and analytical part is time consuming, but I think it will be productive for both Seminole County and us.”
Doss, along with three other EMS regional program directors will stay until Thursday to gather and discuss data with the counties.