Shift is underway in BC EMS

SANDPOINT — Bonner County is in the process of restructuring its emergency medical service apparatus.

The county, which was operated Bonner County EMS for the past 15 years, is migrating toward turning over the system to a nonprofit called North Valley EMS, which will eventually oversee EMS operations for Bonner and Boundary counties, according to Commissioner Dan McDonald.

“They’ve shown that they can run a better system with better service at a lesser rate than what any government agency can do directly,” McDonald said.

Bonner County EMS employees, however, are dubious of the county’s change in approach to EMS.

McDonald said Bonner County EMS expenditures exceeded the levy rate by approximately $300,000.

The county inked an employment agreement on Wednesday with Jeff Lindsey, president of Boundary Volunteer Ambulance Service Inc., which owns North Valley EMS, according to Idaho Secretary of State records.

Lindsey will serve as interim director of Bonner County EMS during the transition. Lindsey replaces former EMS Chief Bob Bussey, who resigned earlier this month. McDonald said he was not at liberty to discuss Bussey’s departure because it’s a personnel matter, but did admit the board and Bussey weren’t seeing eye to eye.

The county will retain its EMS fleet, although it expected to eventually surplus or sell its ambulances and potentially spin off other assets to organizations such as search and rescue, McDonald said. They county will also retain ownership of its EMS stations in Sandpoint and Sagle, which will be rented to North Valley EMS.

McDonald described the migration from Bonner EMS to North Valley EMS as more of a process than an event.

“We’re taking a slow and methodical approach with this,” he said.

North Valley will ultimately receive a significant portion of the Bonner EMS levy, although McDonald said some of that funding will be held back to cover maintenance and upkeep of the county’s EMS facilities.

A Bonner County EMS employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said the EMS ranks were blindsided by the turn of events.

“It took everybody by complete surprise,” said the employee, who fears retribution for speaking publicly.

The employee said Bonner EMS workers will be invited to apply for positions with North Valley EMS.

“That doesn’t assure us paying jobs with them. We’ll be given an opportunity to put an application in, but that doesn’t mean we’ll have employment through those folks,” the employee said.

McDonald, however, said its current employees are hardworking, dedicated and professional, which means their future remains bright with the new agency.

“They’ve always been the heart and soul of EMS so we want to retain that,” said McDonald.

The county plans on meeting with EMS personnel on Wednesday to brief them on the changes and address their concerns. McDonald said the county is also working with North Valley to ensure that employees’ compensation, benefits and insurance packages are commensurate with those of Bonner County EMS.

“We also want to make sure we take care of our employees,” said McDonald.

McDonald said the level of service will improve because North Valley will have as many as five advanced life-support ambulances in the field, compared to the county’s fleet of three. A county commissioner will also serve on North Valley’s board of directors, which means the county will have an influence on its operations.

“We will still have a strong hand over EMS,” McDonald said.

The county’s pivot toward North Valley has not revealed itself on business meeting agendas, which prompted EMS personnel to question the Idaho Attorney General’s Office whether the moves were done in violation of the Idaho Open Meeting law.

“This has been ongoing for the last several months and it’s all been behind closed doors,” the employee said.

McDonald said the efforts to establish a partnership with North Valley were conducted in executive session because they were part of the personnel matter involving Bussey.

“We were looking to hire somebody initially as an interim (director) but to also look at their business model,” McDonald said.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.