The Decatur County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to enter into a contract agreement with Grady EMS of Atlanta.
The contract would go into effect September at the latest.
“We’re looking forward to the opportunity and the challenges ahead of us and a long term relationship with Decatur County,” Grady EMS Vice President Bill Compton said. “This is Grady EMS’ first venture outside of the perimeter (of Atlanta) and into a rural county. We have a numerous amount of senior executives with vast experience working in rural medicine.”
Compton reiterated this was not going to be an Atlanta-based system.
“We’re going to have local people running these calls, we’re going to have a local manager and a South Georgia based system,” he said.
Decatur County Attorney Brown Moseley said he had worked with Memorial Hospital and Manor CEO Billy Walker while drafting the contract to ensure it addressed any concerns he and others had with Grady EMS.
Walker said he was comfortable with the language in the contract.
“I’d like to commend the attorney (Moseley) for his work and flexibility in this process,” Decatur County administrator Gary Breedlove said. “This has been a laborious process and a deliberate process.”