HARRODSBURG, Ky. (LEX 18) — A central Kentucky ambulance service that handles over 3,200 calls annually is on the verge of shutting down, potentially leaving the community without crucial emergency medical services.
The privately owned Mercer County EMS is working on a contract to keep the lights on, and leaders say shutting down the county's only station could be dangerous.
"We got the support we got, but the potential of closing the door sooner rather than later... it's pretty scary," said Mercer County EMS Director Teri Winchester.
It's a reality that Teri and the rest of the staff might face. Mercer County EMS has to negotiate contracts with the city, but an investigation from the Kentucky Office of Inspector General got the Mercer County Fiscal Courthouse's attention. That stopped any conversations for a contract, with no signs of picking back up either.
Elijah Cochran, a captain at the EMS station, doesn't see a reason for the funding to stop until a determination is made. If the EMS station does not get funding soon, they only have weeks until they shut down for good.
"All of us are here because we want to help people," said Winchester. "We have people here that are sick, regular transports that need to be made, and if they don't want to give funding, it's going to end up closing the doors sooner or later."
The Mercer County Fiscal Courthouse put out a statement over the weekend saying the community can rest easy because they have a mutual aid agreement with other surrounding counties. Still, Mercer EMS says that is not a long-term solution.
"We can't just decide tomorrow that we want to close up shop and they come in to take care of our problems. It's not their problem to deal with," said Cochran. It is the responsibility of the Fiscal Court, ultimately, to either contract with an existing EMS service that has the proper infrastructure or build their own. If there is a significant period of time with no EMS infrastructure, it's going to be devastation."
