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PARKERSBURG - The Wood County Commission has worked out a tentative agreement with the WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center to provide ambulance service to the area for the foreseeable future.
Wood County Commission President Blair Couch reported Monday that a deal is ready to be finalized and approved where the county would pay $850,000 annually for the next three years and then do two one-year renewals after that in case any changes or adjustments need to be made.
Couch said he held meetings with Camden Clark CEO Sean Smith to discuss terms.
Officials from Camden Clark came before the county commission in July and requested $1.7 million annually from the commission to help support ambulance service in the area. Officials also discussed the possibility of putting an ambulance service levy on the ballot for the general election.
However, through negotiations they got the amount down to $850,000.
"That is a significant reduction," Couch said.
Couch commended Smith who has local ties to the area and who had previously served on the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department Board.
"He is very community minded," he said. "I am happy (Smith) was able to get us to a number that we could afford."
County officials have commended the ambulance service that they have in place today as calls are getting answered promptly.
"The ambulance service today is more for the community than it has been for years because we have branches everywhere," Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said of the various stations ambulances are dispatched from to give the area better coverage.
"We have a super first-class ambulance service right now," Colombo said. "We have ambulances stationed throughout the county."
Camden Clark is the only hospital in the WVU Medicine system that provides 911 ambulance response.
Couch said this deal will be able to be done without raising taxes or charging an ambulance fee or an ambulance levy or having loans.
"That was something Sean really wanted to make sure did not happen," Couch said. "His concern was he did not want to add to the taxpayers burden."
Couch talked to other commission presidents from around the state and to start from the ground up and build an ambulance service would cost around $30 million.
"We would not be able to do that without a levy or a fee," Couch said.
Smaller counties have their volunteer fire departments act as their ambulance service.
Officials will need to get with Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure to work out the final details, Couch said. Discussions are happening about how the payments to the hospital will be made as quarterly was an option being discussed.
Colombo commended how Couch and Smith approached the negotiations and got the numbers down as opposed to the initial $1.7 million that was proposed. Officials initially questioned that amount as being initially "inflated," Colombo said.
"This is cost cutting for the public and the money is there," he said.
Wood County Commissioner Jim Hamric said when they came to the commission with that number everyone thought they would have no choice but to do a levy.
"It seemed imminent that we were going to have to do that," he said. "I applaud (Couch) in having the foresight to do what you did and work with them and come to an agreement that we can all work with."
Colombo said they are not only getting a discount but also "a class act in service from a great hospital."
Couch believes an agreement will be in place and signed off on by Jan. 1, 2027.
Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com