VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach City Council members heard they have a shortfall of at least 10 ambulances and dozens of providers in their emergency medical response system during their informal session on Tuesday.
Virginia Beach EMS Chief Jason Stroud said challenges include staffing shortages, burnout, lack of communication, and lack of sustainable funding and volunteers. That’s according to the findings of a study by the McChrystal Group.
Among the proposals to fix the problem is what’s called “compassionate billing,” of which Stroud provided a high-level view during the meeting. “Compassionate billing” involves billing insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid for emergency medical transport services, but aiming to decrease out-of-pocket costs to the patients – especially those who are city residents – as much as possible.
“Absolutely nobody gets turned over to collections,” Stroud added.
Stroud said a conservative estimate of the potential revenue from such a policy was $14 million in the first year, potentially reaching $17 million in the fifth year with the expected increase in call volume.
“It would take care of a lot of their budget and a lot of their needs,” council member David Hutcheson said. “It’s not $12. It’s a considerable amount of money.”
Virginia Beach currently is doing a lot with a little.
“When you compare staffed units to calls for service, you’ll see we fall behind every other Hampton Roads city, Henrico and Chesterfield counties, and I even included Omaha, Nebraska, since they have almost an identical population and call volume,” Stroud said.
There are 250 fewer active volunteer members today than at the close of 2010, with about 30,000 more calls annually, Stroud said. Including career providers, the system currently has the capacity to staff only about 14 to 15 ambulances daily, while it needs 18.
Meanwhile, financial pressures include the cost of over $500,000 to purchase and equip a new ambulance, which has increased over 30% in the last two years.
“Even though we do have challenges, we do provide exceptional patient care,” Stroud said, noting recognition from the American Heart Association and other organizations.
Taking care of volunteers and career providers so that they stay is a vital consideration. Many career providers can get better pay and benefits with other organizations in the area. Many volunteers are stressed by the staff shortages and haven’t been able to build relationships with their coworkers because they are constantly moved to new stations.
“EMS is a physically taxing, highly stressful, and exhausting job, which leads to increased risks for burnout, injury and work-related illness, and cardiac issues,” Stroud said.
Council members said they want to make additions of ambulances and staff a top priority in the upcoming budget cycle.
“This is certainly life and death,” council member Barbara Henley said. “This is something that needs to come right to the very top of our concerns … I think they do such a good job that we assume everything is fine, but after a while, there are needs.”
Council member Sabrina Wooten added that the medical providers deserve to be made a top priority.
“These are lifesaving services,” she said. “You need more than a thank-you in appreciation.”
There will be two town halls for EMS members in October, Stroud said, plus the presentation of a study on billing in late November.