Gilmer Reacts to Planned End of ETMC Ambulance Service

GILMER (Staff/AP) � Gilmer officials are reacting after yet another move by East Texas Medical Center to phase out care in Upshur County. ETMC earlier announced it would first close its hospital in the city, followed by the emergency room and physicians clinic. Now, effective March 1, 2015, ETMC EMS is discontinuing ambulance services. KETK spoke with Gilmer City Manager Jeff Ellington, who said, “To lose the facility, the operation, and all the jobs related to that is a very negative thing. And it is a concern to the entire community and obviously the city itself.”

ETMC cited fewer patients and declining federal reimbursement rates in the decisions to close the hospital, ER, and physicians clinic in Gilmer. In a statement released this week, ETMC EMS General Manager Neal Franklin said, “For many years ETMC has been able to provide ambulance service in many communities for free or a small fee. With the changes in reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance, we can no longer afford to provide this service.” Franklin said ETMC will assist during the transition to a new EMS provider but didn’t immediately say what that transition might entail. ETMC provides ambulance services to nearly 40,000 residents in Upshur County, and the city plans to find a solution that will ensure the safety of these residents. Ellington said, “There will be another ambulance service if that is the end result.”