The CEO of Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County expressed concern about recent delays in ambulance transfers due to Sweetwater Medics being understaffed. If delays became a pattern, the hospital would contract with another ambulance provider. Sweetwater Medics acknowledged staffing issues during their transition as the sole provider but plans to hire another paramedic and purchase another ambulance to avoid future transfer delays.

1. Hospital CEO concerned about
ambulance transfer delays
Sweetwater Medics employee Grant Parker speaks with personnel at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County to prepare them
for an incoming patient in March.
Ryan James/Rocket-Miner
Ryan James/Rocket-Miner Staff Reporter
The last few months have been turbulent and uncertain for emergency medical services
in Rock Springs.
First, the Sweetwater County Commission turned down a requested subsidy for
Sweetwater Medics ambulance company because it was competing with Rock Springs
Regional Ambulance.

2. When Regional closed its doors, the commissioners approved temporary funding for
Sweetwater Medics to cover 911 calls as the only ambulance provider.
A monthly subsidy will go into effect July 1.
However, the contract does not cover hospital transfers, only 911 coverage.
At the June 6 board meeting for Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, CEO Jerry
Klein said transfers for five or six patients to and from the hospital had been delayed
because Sweetwater Medics was understaffed.
If these delays became a pattern, Klein said the hospital would contract with another
provider, which would take away much of Sweetwater Medics' revenue and potentially
put the company out of business.
"If we had a consistent pattern of that happening, it wouldn't take that long, because we
and they are putting our patients at risk. We are not going to put our patients at risk,"
Klein said.
The transfers and the subsidy are intertwined, commissioner Reid West said, because
Sweetwater Medics uses revenue earned from the transfers to determine how much they
will need for 911 calls.
"If they lose that transfer business, they're going to be back asking for a higher subsidy
and secondly, we gave them stopgap funding for April, May and June," West said. "It
was our understanding that that money was provided so that we wouldn't lose any
ambulance coverage."
West said company co-founder Ron Gattiassured him that the problem would be
resolved and he told Gatti it was important to mend any damage done to the
relationship with the hospital.
The transfer problems occurred around the same time the commissioners approved the
ambulance subsidy, Klein said, and after West said the subsidy would cover the
purchase of two more ambulances. He said since this time there have been no more
transfer denials.

3. Other transfer alternatives include calling ambulance companies in Salt Lake City and
putting a patient on a fixed-wing, medical plane. Both options are incredibly expensive,
Klein said, and are not long-term solutions.
"You need to step up, or admit you can't do it," Klein said.
SWEETWATER MEDICS RESPONSE
Sweetwater Medics co-founder Steve Kourbelas said the transition since Sweetwater
Medics became the only ambulance provider in Rock Springs has been a heavy burden
on the company for the past few months.
"We guarantee the same level of service we've always had with the hospital. There were
times before the contract with the county was approved when we couldn't take
transfers," Kourbelas said. "Tosay that we can guarantee a transfer 100 percent of the
time would be an inaccurate statement on our part. If there are two transfers to Salt
Lake and then a third one hits, we can't staff seven or eight ambulances at a time."
Because the company took about half of the original stopgap funding, the budget has
been very tight, Kourbelas said.
"Our staffing level is at a minimum, and I don't think that was communicated to the
hospital at the time we had to turn down that transfer," Kourbelas said. "We've asked
the hospital to bear with us until we get our staffing level back up to the appropriate
levels. I fully suspect once we get settled into our new position that everything's going to
operate the way it's been operating for years. I don't think there'll be an issue with it."
Since it became the only emergency medical service provider, Sweetwater Medics has
taken about 40 transfers to Salt Lake City and hundreds of in-town transfers, Kourbelas
said.
Sweetwater Medics is working with the hospital to establish a policy that sets clear,
realistic expectations for both the company and the hospital.
"The hospital is one of our main customers, and we want to keep their satisfaction at the
highest level," Kourbelas said. "We don't want to miss out on transfers. That's a large
revenue stream for the company."

4. Sweetwater Medics will hire another paramedic, which will allow the company to have
two 24-hour crews available.
Additionally, the company has purchased a new ambulance in preparation for the
National High School Finals Rodeo and is negotiating with a leasing company to
purchase another, which would give them a total of five.