Quincy hospital cannot run EMS levy

Hospital plans to talk with Fire District No. 3

QUINCY — Quincy Valley Medical Center Administrator Mehdi Merred learned it would take more than a Grant County Fire District No. 3 Emergency Medical Service levy failing to run a hospital levy.

Merred said Tuesday the hospital district's ambulance service was in jeopardy.

Only one entity in each service district can run an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) levy at any given time, and Fire District No. 3 is already running a levy. The proposal on the Feb. 6 ballot is a renewal of a current six-year levy, expiring in December.

Merred learned Grant County Fire District No. 10 overlaps the hospital district as well, and its levy does not expire until 2011.

"I wasn't aware of it until yesterday," Merred said Thursday.

He said Grant County Assessor Laure Grammer informed him Wednesday of the overlapping area. He confirmed the detail with Grant County Treasurer Darryl Pheasant Thursday morning, he said.

The ongoing Fire District No. 10 levy prohibits the hospital from running a levy, regardless of the outcome of the proposed Fire District No. 3 levy, Grammer said.

Approximately $59 million in assessed real estate value is included in the common area between Fire District No. 10 and Hospital District No. 2, she said.

"It's not a small piece," she said.

Grammer said she and Pheasant met with Merred and the hospital board in May or June 2006. She said at the time she and Pheasant encouraged the hospital district to work with the county, which has priority over any other entity for levies. The county could use the money to fund the fire districts or hospitals, which both need the money, she said.

Merred said he planned to discuss the levy issue with Fire District No. 3.

"That should be happening within the next two weeks," he said.

Merred said annexing from Fire District No. 10 does not make sense because of the size of the taxing district. The hospital overlaps with district No. 10 but does not respond to the area unless requested to do so.

Fire Chief for District No. 10 and No. 11 Brian Evans said if a hospital levy passed and district No. 10 lost its levy, they could not run a levy again until the hospital's levy failed.

"It would drastically cut into our funds to run an ambulance," Evans said. "They've got other ways to raise money without hurting the fire district."

The service area is 520 square miles, he said. The levy contributes around $50,000 per year.

"That's what helps us to be able to replace our equipment on an as-needed basis and keep up the training and run the (Emergency Medical Technician) class," Evans said.

He said the district is paying back $300,000 received in reimbursement from Medicare, needs a new ambulance and wants to maintain staff training,

Medicare auditors required the hospital to pay the money back after discovering the nearest ambulance service was in Wenatchee, Merred said. Because the ambulance service is located less than 35 miles from the hospital, the hospital lost its reimbursement, he said.

Quincy Valley is now repaying $300,000, which it received in $100,000 increments from 2004 to 2006.

The last time the hospital purchased an ambulance was in 2001, Merred said. The oldest of the three ambulances is 17 years old.

Training classes are offered constantly because of a high turnover in the district area, he said.