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County will regulate medical transport By JILL BRISKEY An elderly woman dies unattended during a trip from her nursing home to a doctor's office. A senior citizen suffering a heart attack is taken to an emergency room in a van instead of an ambulance. Hoping to prevent these situations from reoccurring, county officials agreed Wednesday to regulate companies that transport people with medical needs. The ordinance, approved by Jackson County commissioners, requires non-emergency medical transport services to evaluate passengers medically before driving them to their destination. The ordinance's message to drivers is simple, said Gary Stevens, program manager for the county's environmental health division: "When in doubt, call 911." Stevens used the examples about the woman who died on her way to the doctor's office and the heart attack sufferer to illustrate the need for the new rules. About a half dozen non-ambulance medical transport companies operate in the Rogue Valley. These businesses drive people to and from nursing homes, hospitals, doctors' offices and other medical facilities. They are licensed as limousine or taxi services and are not regulated by the state or county. Although many vehicles are outfitted with medical equipment and drivers receive various levels of training, the companies are not considered ambulances. Under the new rules, if a person appears to be suffering from one of 14 "acute medical conditions," transport company employees must contact an ambulance provider. "We want to draw a bright line here," said Commissioner Sue Kupillas. Depending on the severity of the situation, violators could face a warning or fines if they are found guilty in court. Stevens said the county will investigate complaints and has the authority to issue citations. Stevens and others have been working on the ordinance since 1997. "This has been on our plate for an awful long time," Stevens said. "Sometimes these folks (using non-emergency transportation) are in real trouble, and we want to protect them." Mike Flores, owner of Medford-based N.E.T.-Care, one of the businesses affected by the new regulations, said he agrees with the county's new safeguards. He also would like to see a protocol in place that would require non-emergency transport services to meet certain training and safety standards. "We don't want to see anybody hurt," said Flores, who started the first non-emergency transport service in the area eight years ago. "I want to be working under a protocol." Sams Valley resident Walt Fitzgerald told commissioners Wednesday that he worries the new rules will discourage people from calling a transport service, fearing the cost of an ambulance that might come with it. "You're preventing competition that would keep the price down," he said. "I don't believe this is the right approach." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.