The Loudon County Commission on Friday voted to put
ambulance provider Rural Metro on notice, voting to have
the county attorney send a letter outlining a series of
alleged deficiencies and a deadline of 60 days to
address them.
County Commissioner Bob Franke said the commission
passed a motion to send the letter after hearing a list
of the alleged deficiencies which included the 911
dispatchers not knowing where Rural Metro vehicles are
located.
According to the dispatchers, because the vehicles do
not have GPS tracking capability the drivers must notify
dispatch of their location. Franke said there have been
reports some Rural Metro ambulances have not been at the
location they notified dispatch they would be at.
One of the most serious deficiencies involved a report
of a Rural Metro driver refusing to transport a badly
burned fatality from a traffic accident. The driver
allegedly told responders at the scene that he didn’t
want the smell of the burn victim in his ambulance.
Rural Metro Chief Jerry Harnish said he had not yet
heard about the letter. He said he would read the letter
and respond to the allegations next week. He confirmed
the 60-day notice was necessary to end the contract with
Loudon County.
Rural Metro has been engaged in a turf battle in Loudon
County against rival ambulance service Priority. The
county has been using Rural Metro but cities, including
Loudon and Lenoir City, had opted to contract with
Priority. An informal agreement between the two services
will allow dispatchers to send the closest ambulance on
high-priority calls, despite their location in the
county. Earlier this week Rural Metro dropped a lawsuit
against Lenoir City.
Franke, whose 12 years of service on commission will end
Sept. 1 when the new commission is sworn in, said he has
been concerned his district in Greenback has been
underserved by the Rural Metro service. Rural Metro has
an ambulance stationed in the area from 8 a.m. to 8
p.m., he said.
It will be up to the new commission to deal with the
ambulance contract after they are sworn in, he said.
A spokesperson for Priority declined comment.