Decatur AL Ambulance Service Leaves 'Corrupted System'

Mar. 15—First Response Ambulance Service will cease operations in Decatur at 5 p.m. today after alleging that it was targeted and damaged by city "departments, boards and employees."

The company's exit will leave Decatur Morgan Hospital as the city's only ambulance service provider.

City Clerk Stephanie Simon received a notification letter from First Response management at 2 p.m. Monday.

"First Response at this time cannot continue to participate in a corrupted system," the letter said.

Mayor Tab Bowling said in a news release that he is confident "there will be no lapse or delay in ambulance coverage for our community. This is an essential service that all residents should have access to in the event they need urgent medical care."

This is not the first time the city has had one of two competing ambulance services cease operations. In 2014, two years after First Response began operating in the city, Decatur Emergency Medical Service ceased operation in the middle of the night and then filed for bankruptcy.

Fire Chief Tracy Thornton, who serves as the Ambulance Regulatory Board chairman, said he was aware of the letter from First Response but had not communicated with the company to know of its plans.

"I'm currently in the progress of talking to Decatur Morgan Hospital and Morgan County 911 to make sure we're covered (after First Response ends its service in Decatur)," Thornton said.

First Response owner David Childers attended last week's ARB meeting, but Thornton said they didn't talk and Childers left as soon as the meeting ended. Childers could not be reached for comment Monday.

The hospital was issued a certificate of public necessity and convenience in October to run an ambulance service that began competing with First Response.

Ordinance change

First Response, which also has had operations in other communities, blamed its departure from the Decatur market on the problems created by the changes to the city ordinance in 2019. After years of bickering over response times, the City Council changed the ordinance to begin penalizing ambulance services who operate in the city if they do not meet certain requirements surrounding response times and operations.

"Since that time, the ambulance system has endured a plethora of issues in which have been a danger to public safety within the city of Decatur," First Response's notification letter stated.

The letter said First Response officials "tried to communicate" the issues that the ordinance created.

"However, the city has refused to acknowledge our pleas," the letter said.

Councilman Carlton McMasters said in a text message that he was surprised by First Response's decision to cease operations.

"I always thought there were some issues with the 2019 ordinance," McMasters said. "After input from First Response, we made some changes to the ordinance that I thought would be beneficial to both the provider and the city.

"Public safety is the No. 1 reason we have an ordinance in place — so providers are held accountable. It doesn't matter if it's First Response or Decatur-Morgan EMS. They both work under the same rules and regulations."

Hospital EMT Director Tyler Stinson said he "believes" the hospital's service is ready to take over sole coverage of the city.

"We're already running five ambulances a day," Stinson said. "And we will continue to work on our response times and coverage of the city."

Childers said at a previous ARB meeting that five to six ambulances are necessary to give Decatur adequate coverage.

Struggles begin

First Response has struggled since the coronavirus pandemic begin in March 2020.

The City Council approved a temporary license from Decatur Morgan Hospital to run an ambulance service on a limited based in February 2021. Six months later, the hospital announced it was starting a full-time ambulance service and the council issued a CNC to the DMH Ambulance Service.

A lawsuit by Healthcare Investment Group Inc., doing business as First Response and owned by Childers, was filed in December in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

The lawsuit accused the city and Huntsville Hospital of conspiring to cripple its business, in part to retaliate against Childers for his mayoral campaign. Childers ran for mayor in 2020 and lost to Bowling, the incumbent.

First Response racked up $15,900 in city fines between Jan. 14 and March 7 this year for not putting enough ambulances on the road since Jan. 14, EMS Coordinator Chris Phillips reported to the Ambulance Regulatory Board last week.

Childers claimed call volume and per-call revenue are too low for the company to meet the city's requirement to have at least two ambulances running 24 hours and one running a 12-hour shift.

Childers has said repeatedly that Decatur Morgan Hospital is now keeping the higher-paying non-emergency calls to itself and emergency calls alone do not create enough revenue to support an ambulance service.

— [email protected] or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.

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