HOULTON, Maine — A seven-month review of the town’s ambulance department by an independent company has yielded more than 100 recommendations on things that could be improved.
Houlton Town Councilors were presented with the 107-page document during Monday night’s regular meeting. George Klauber of Municipal Resources Inc. of Meredith, New Hampshire went over the organizational analysis document with the council.
Klauber said Monday that while the initial review request was for the town’s ambulance department, it was impossible to do so without also taking a look at the town’s fire department because they share the same building and have a great deal of interaction on a daily basis.
“We met with the staff one on one and they were very honest and forthright with us,” Klauber said. “They opened up to us about some of the things they would like to see moving forward, what they viewed as some problems, and even offered up some solutions. That is unusual. Not everywhere we go are the employees that open and willing to talk to us.”
The report, which cost the town $17,350 to compile, took a critical look at the ambulance department, citing issues with the billing process for reimbursement and questioned the need for separate fire and ambulance departments. The report also stated greater management was needed for the ambulance service.
“The MRI team found an ambulance department that is capable of providing more than adequate emergency medical services to the community, but is in need of strong leadership and effective management,” the report states.
Among the top recommendations were: consolidate the ambulance and fire departments into one Houlton Fire/Rescue Department with increased cross-training for the two groups so that employees could fill dual roles as firefighters and EMTs; create a new position of EMS director, who would serve as deputy chief under the current chief; a need to develop written Standard Operating Procedures for employees to follow on a daily basis; and a need for quarterly presentations to the town on the ambulance department’s incident rates and reimbursement reports.
“We understand there is a cost involved, but I believe we felt strongly that a full-time EMS director will make the ambulance department more efficient,” Klauber said.
Councilor Jane Torres stated she felt many of the items in the report simply were not practical for Houlton.
“This is a great, thorough report, but there are things that I don’t see working for us,” she said. “I would like Milton [Cone] to be in on the conversation with everyone here during a workshop.”
Councilors stated Monday evening that the report was too much to digest in just one sitting and opted to hold a workshop session with Ambulance Director and Fire Chief Milton Cone at a later time. No date has been set for the workshop session.
Chief Cone was not asked to speak about the report Monday evening, but was expected to be part of the workshop evaluating the data contained in it.
