By Katie Ryan
Tomorrow local EMS service in the Village of Neilburg will not be terminated, as earlier decided by the health region. Instead during last week’s board meeting, the Prairie North Health Region board decided to extend the service, but have rescheduled the cancellation date for Oct. 1.
Neilburg administrator Janet Black said the extension of service is a good sign the health region is willing to explore other options.
“It wasn’t a ‘no,’” she said of the board’s decision. “What they are going to come back at us with or what they are going to want from us, we have no idea until we meet with them. But at least we are still able to communicate back and forth and hopefully come up with a solution that works for both parties.”
During the month of September, Neilburg, the Village of Marsden and the RMs of Hillsdale and Manitou will meet with the health region to discuss their options and their next course of action.
“We are very happy that they have at least given us a month and are willing to come to the table and talk to the four councils,” said Black.
The decision to remove Neilburg’s local EMS service was based on the region’s commitment to find efficiencies and recover a $5 million shortfall. The cost to operate the Neilburg ambulance standby service costs the region approximately $117,000 a year and as of Sept. 1 the Neilburg ambulance service was to be consolidated at Cut Knife, however that date is now set for Oct. 1.
On Aug. 23 PNHR board members and CEO David Fan met with Neilburg and surrounding area residents at a public meeting, where both testimonials were shared in support of preserving local EMS coverage by community members and PNHR explained their decision to consolidate the service.
“We pretty much put it on the table at the public meeting, what we are wiling to do. Some of our residents said they didn’t care if it cost them $500 a year, they are willing to pay it. I think they have a pretty good idea that we are willing to do whatever is necessary to keep the service,” said Black. “Until we talk to Prairie North, what their plans are until the end of their current year, which is March 31, 2011, we really don’t know anything. All we know is that we have a month reprieve to have conversations with them and see where we can go from there.”
Following the decision to extend service by one month, PNHR board and the four councils are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks.
“They can tell us what they are willing to do or not willing to do. And then we as a collective group can go forward with the planning or whatever is required to make it work, if that’s the way we are headed,” said Black.
“There are some private companies already running in Prairie North, we haven’t talked to any of them yet but maybe one of them will be willing to take on our service, I really don’t know.
“I am just very happy that they are giving us a chance to talk to them.”
As of press time, PNHR officials were not available for comment.