The Stoddard County Ambulance District (SCAD) Board of Directors discussed starting a scholarship program for graduating high school seniors in the county for the 2017-18 school year. The discussion was held at a recent meeting.
The board discussed providing scholarships for the full cost of receiving EMT or paramedic certification. The cost of EMT training is $1,200 and the cost of paramedic training is $7,500. The training is offered at Three Rivers College, the Sikeston Career Training Center and a technical college in Cape Girardeau.
The board previously discussed starting a scholarship program as a way to recruit employees to the district. Finding qualified personnel has become more difficult. The scholarship would require a commitment to work at SCAD for a certain period of time after receiving certification.
SCAD Manager Dave Cooper said perhaps the scholarship should focus on students who wished to receive EMT training, and not paramedic training. He said the latter is more expensive, and the district has found that it is valuable for employees to work as an EMT before becoming a paramedic.
SCAD Assistant Manager Chuck Kasting recommended that EMTs work for at last one year, probably two years, before making the decision to become a paramedic.
Cooper said the district, by funding EMT scholarships, would provide more opportunities to county high school students.
Board Member Amy Stubenrauch said she would contact all the high school counselors in the county to gain input. She told the board it was very possible to get the program going for the next school year and begin taking applications for scholarships in the fall of this year.
"I think we should pursue this," said Board Member Al Banken. Board President Sam Huey agreed. He noted that the board would have to develop a system to choose scholarship recipients.
The board voted unanimously to invest $300,000 in district funds in certificates of deposit (CDs). Cooper received bids for interest rates for CDs from all financial institutions in the county. He proposed that $100,000 be invested in a six-month CD, $100,000 in a one-year CD and $100,000 in a two-year CD. The highest interest rate offered for the six-month CD was from People's Bank of Greenville in Puxico with an interest rate of 1.250 percent. The highest rate offered for the one-year CD was from Edward Jones at 1.25 percent and for the two-year CD it was from Edward Jones at 1.60 percent.
Quotes were received from First Midwest Bank in Dexter and Puxico, First Commercial Bank, First Community Bank in Bernie, FM Bank, First State Bank & Trust, Bank of Advance, Edward Jones, Southern Bank, Regions Bank, US Bank, Ozark Federal Credit Union and People's Bank of Greenville.
Banken made the motion to accept Cooper's recommendation. It passed by a 4-0 vote. Board members Tish Foster and Rick McLean were not present.
Cooper, in the financial report, told the board that the district is $199,000 above last year for an overall fund balance.
"It is really looking very good," said Cooper of the district's revenues.
Cooper said income was up across the board, including patient revenue, tax revenue and miscellaneous income. He noted that the district has been above 500 ambulance runs for seven months, which was a big reason for the revenue increase.
Kasting reported there were 586 runs in March, once again setting a record. He told the board there had been 2,002 runs already in 2017.
Craig Schuttenberg, account manager for Roundtree Medical, gave a demonstration of an automatic CPR device, a RUSC-U. He cited several statistics that showed the value of an automatic CPR device, and demonstrated how it works. He said the effectiveness of manual CPR decreases as the amount of time increases. He noted that Stoddard County is very rural and transport times can be lengthy. He also noted that it is unsafe for personnel to be standing and performing CPR while in the back of an ambulance.
Schuttenberg said the device features a iron phosphate lithium battery which will stay charged for at least three hours. He said the cost of the device would be $9,900, or $10,250 for the unit and an extended three-year warranty if the district purchases five more more devices. The device has a one-year warranty.
After Schuttenberg left, the board discussed purchasing the devices. Cooper said he the district had used the device on a trial basis, and some employees had difficulty using it.
Kasting said it was because employees were unfamiliar with the device, and the strap holding the pumping device in place had to be attached improperly.
Cooper said other companies had similar devices and asked Kasting how much their equipment cost. Cooper said he would like to get some cost comparisons, but that he would like to see the district try a couple of the CPR devices on an experimental basis.
Kasting said he would obtain price quotes from other companies. The board will bring the purchase up at their next regular meeting.
The board also approved the following:
* Providing EMT James Martin tuition assistance for attending paramedic school;
* Changes in the Policy Manual concerning nature of work employment, workplace violence prevention, sexual and other unlawful harassment, attendance and punctuality, return of property, security inspections and life threatening illnesses in the workplace;
* The district calendar for April through December 2017;
* Paying district expenses of $133,427.65 for March;
* Accepting write-offs of $238,487.65. Write-offs are the difference between what is billed by the district for services and what is paid by Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance and the VA, as well as bad debt.