Charles Futch
EMS Director
529 American Legion Road
Rochelle GA. 31079
(229) 365-7948
Fax: (229) 365-7562
Emergency Medical Services, more commonly known as EMS, is a system that provides emergency medical care. Once it is activated by an incident that causes serious illness or injury, the focus of EMS is medical care of any patient. This emergency medical care is provided by highly educated and well-trained Emergency medical technicians (EMTs), Advanced EMTs, and Paramedics.
EMS is most easily recognized when emergency vehicles or helicopters are seen responding to emergency incidents. But EMS is much more than a ride to the hospital. It is a system of coordinated response and emergency medical care, involving multiple people and agencies. A comprehensive EMS system is ready every day for every kind of emergency.
EMS is an intricate system, and each component of this system has an essential role to perform as part of a coordinated and seamless system of emergency medical care. EMS does not exist in isolation, but is integrated with other services and systems intended to maintain and enhance the community’s health and safety. EMS operated at the crossroads of health care, public health and public safety, delivering healthcare in a public safety model. Since EMS providers respond to all kinds of emergencies and hazards, they often work shoulder-to-shoulder with public safety colleagues in law enforcement and fire services. However, EMS remains focused on their primary mission which is emergency medical care.
The organizational structure of EMS, as well as who provides and finances the service, varies significantly from community to community. Prehospital services are sometimes based in a fire department, a hospital, an independent government agency, a non-profit corporation or be provided for by commercial for-profit companies. In our case, we are a department of the Wilcox County Board of commissioners. Regardless of provider, the essential components of an EMS System remain the same.
Wilcox County EMS is a 911 service for this county operating with 2 ALS Ambulances 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The EMS service is responsible for a 340 sq mile response area, serving a population of approximately 9000 residents. Wilcox county EMS is staffed by 13 full time employees with 10 part time employees, that are EMTs and Paramedics. EMS is equipped with a fleet of 4 Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances, 1 quick response vehicle and 1 rescue truck. Wilcox EMS responds to approximately 2000 calls a year and transports to surrounding county hospitals within 45 miles. When necessary patients will be transported to the nearest Trauma, Cardiac or Stroke centers for definitive care.
Wilcox County EMS provides ALS care with the latest technology and clinical guidelines to ensure the people of Wilcox county get the highest level of care possible. Wilcox County EMS also provides EMT courses, CPR and Stop the Bleed classes to the public. Please contact EMS for availability of classes.
BILLING FOR EMS SERVICES
EMS billing is highly technical and closely regulated by the State and Federal government. Because of this, Wilcox County retains the services of a professional billing company to complete this function on its behalf. This company is Ambulance Medical Billing (AMB) based out of Paducah, KY. Because of the overhead costs associated with providing ambulance services, these bills can seem very expensive. In most cases, the bill is fully or partially covered by the patient’s healthcare insurer. These insurers include commercial insurance (often provided by your employer), Medicare, Medicare replacement plans. Medicare supplement plans, Medicaid, and sometimes paid out-of-pocket by the patient themselves.
We understand that billing, and insurance reimbursement, are often confusing. If you have questions concerning your bill or what your insurer may have, or may not have, paid in association with your bill, we encourage you to contact our billing company directly. You may contact AMB by telephone toll free at 1-855-347-1360.
