Floyd County officials approve new EMS contracts

The Floyd County Commissioners approved contracts Tuesday with AmeriPro Health and the Highlander Fire Protection District to provide EMS services starting June 1.

Commissioners Al Knable, Jason Sharp and John Schellenberger voted unanimously in favor of the AmeriPro contract. Sharp voted against Highlander.

The decision comes less than two weeks ahead of the expiration of the current contract with New Chapel EMS. The commissioners previously rejected New Chapel’s bid during this process , in part because the organization wasn’t at the time able to provide full financial information.

“The overriding, number one priority was for us to have service come June 1, 2024,” Knable, the commissioners president, said. “And we're going to have that — no gaps in service.”

What they’ll cover

Under the new contracts, AmeriPro will be the primary provider covering all of Floyd County outside of New Albany through the end of 2024 — including Georgetown, Lafayette, Greenville, New Albany and Franklin townships. The city of New Albany is already under a separate contract with AmeriPro. Highlander will be the secondary provider this year, within their district.

Beginning in 2025, Highlander will be the primary provider in Lafayette and Greenville townships. AmeriPro will cover Georgetown, New Albany and Franklin townships.

AmeriPro will be responsible for providing two ambulances 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For the remainder of 2024, when they’re the primary provider for five townships, the service will also include one 24-hour quick response vehicle with staff that can provide Advanced Life Support.

AmeriPro will have monthly evaluations for the first six months and quarterly after that.

When it becomes the primary provider in its district in 2025, Highlander is responsible for providing one full time ambulance 24 hours a day, seven days a week and a second ambulance for 10 hours a day, five days a week.

Payment

For the remainder of 2024, the county will pay AmeriPro $78,083 per month for primary coverage to Georgetown, Lafayette, Greenville, New Albany and Franklin townships.

In 2025 and 2026, the rate will be $82,250 per month for services to Georgetown, New Albany and Franklin townships. There is also a provision in the contract which would allow the county to deduct payments or financial sanctions based on response times.

Highlander will receive $33,446.58 per month throughout the contract.

In total, the contracts will cost around $3.5 million through the end of 2026.

“I feel good that we as politicians have found some sort of compromise that sets both of these services up for success in the short term and the long term,” Knable said. He added that there will be continued measures to evaluate and improve service.

“We're not signing a contract and forgetting about it,” he said. “We're going to keep moving forward on this and try to fine tune it and get the best service we can for everybody in the county.”

The contracts are not valid until the Floyd County Council makes appropriations to fund them. They’ll meet in the coming days for a vote. During a joint council-commissioners meeting Tuesday, council members made a “nonbinding show of support” to fund the two contracts. Part of the funding will come from a $500,000 one-time grant from the Floyd County Legacy Foundation,

Knable said officials will put together a task force to explore what EMS services could look like in 2027 and beyond.

The possibility of fire-based service has been part of the discussion over the past few months.

Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.