EMS Strategic Analysis

For
Buncombe County, NC

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 25908 Greenville, SC 29616
Cell (828) 409-1638 / Fax (800) 344-4401
[email protected]


Table of Contents
Disclaimer ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Section One – Engagement Overview ......................................................................................................... 4
Section Three – Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 5
Section Four – Observations and Recommendations ............................................................................ 5

Strengths ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Weaknesses ................................................................................................................................................................................. 12
Section Five – Closing Statement ............................................................................................................... 17
Appendix A – Supplemental Data Analysis ............................................................................................. 18

List of Figures and Exhibits

Figure 1: 9-1-1 Response Time Graphic ................................................................................... 6

Figure 2: EMS Response Times ................................................................................................... 7
Figure 3: Fire Department Response Times.............................................................................. 7
Figure 4: Avg. Fire Department Response Times..................................................................... 7
Figure 5: Avg. EMS Response Times .......................................................................................... 7
Figure 6: Trip and Response data by Zip Code ...................................................................... 8
Figure 7: Reported Response Time Delays .............................................................................. 9
Figure 8: Comparative Demographic Data ......................................................................... 11
Figure 9: Avg. EMS Response Times ........................................................................................ 12
Figure 10: Avg. Fire Department Response Times ................................................................. 12
Figure 11: Overall Payer Mix Breakdown ............................................................................... 15
Figure 12: Payer Mix Break Down by the Organization ........................................................ 15
Figure 13: Billing and Collections breakdown ....................................................................... 15

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Disclaimer
This report has been prepared solely for the internal business use of Buncombe County.
It is only intended to be relied upon by the management of Buncombe County.
Management Solutions for Emergency Services does not intend to benefit or create a
legal duty to any third-party recipient of its work.

In preparing this report, Management Solutions for Emergency Services relied on data
and other information provided by Buncombe County and its associated subcontractors
as well as publicly available data from multiple sources. Management Solutions for
Emergency Services has not audited or verified this data and other information. If the
underlying data or information is inaccurate or incomplete, the results of our
recommendations and analysis may likewise be inaccurate or incomplete.

Buncombe County must not rely on the information in the report as an alternative to
financial advice from an appropriately qualified professional. If Buncombe County has
any specific questions about any financial matter, Buncombe County should consult an
appropriately qualified professional.

Management Solutions for Emergency Services does not represent, warrant, undertake
or guarantee that the use of guidance in the report will lead to any particular outcome
or result.

Management Solutions for Emergency Services will not be liable to Buncombe County in
respect of any business losses, including without limitation loss of or damage to profits,
income, revenue, use, production, anticipated savings, business, contracts, commercial
opportunities or goodwill.

This document is intended for the internal use of recipients only and may not be
distributed externally or reproduced for external distribution in any form without express
written permission of Management Solutions for Emergency Services.

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Section One – Engagement Overview

The table below provides an overview of the engagement.

Prepared For Buncombe County Administration

Organization Scope Buncombe County’s EMS and Fire Departments.

January 1st, 2017 through December 31st, 2017

Period of Assessment 2013 to 2016 data was used as a comparison and historical
benchmark.

Management Solutions for Emergency Services conducted the

following:
Type of Testing and
Analysis • Review of EMS and Fire Department documentation
• Review of EMS Billing System Data
• Analysis of key data elements reported to NEMSIS
The information gathered findings and recommendations in
this report are subject to inherent limitations. (e.g., time
Considerations
limitations and sampling) and accordingly, weaknesses, errors
or irregularities may not have been detected.

Section Two—Scope and Methodology:

The objective of this study was to review the County EMS systems basic key service indicators and
make a recommendation regarding a possible addition of ambulances to the current system. To
address the objective—data was collected from Buncombe County, its corresponding EMS and
Fire Departments, and their sub-contractors for ambulance billing, EMS Management &
Consultants, Inc and Andres Medical Billing, Ltd. The study addresses chute and response times
while excluding event identification and dispatch times. The scope of the study includes a review
of the subcontractors’ billing resulting from Advance Lifesaving Support (ALS) medical condition
dispatched trips provided in the 2017 calendar year and excludes BLS medical condition
dispatches within the same time frame. In addition, a review of a separate sample of trips within
Buncombe County from January 2013 through December 2016 was performed to compare
historical response times. Data was compiled from the County’s billing systems and from County
and Fire Department budget documents as well as data from the Nation Emergency Medical
Services Information System (NEMSIS) database.

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Section Three – Executive Summary

Based on review of all the data reviewed within the scope of this study, Management Solutions
for Emergency Services (MSFES) determined that adding more ambulances to the current system
would cost the County more funding without adding to any enhanced service level to the
citizens. In the study, MSFES identified no value to adding ambulances because there is already
unused ambulance within the system that has already been obtained by County tax dollars but
is not being used currently to provide protection. MSFES noted that there were at least two (2)
ambulances that are not being staffed fully because of low call volume (Skyland Fire
Department) and staffing budget needs (Buncombe County Rescue Squad).
At this time, MSFES advises that adding other ambulances to the EMS system that are not a part
of the current system would only be depriving the current system of federal funding for EMS
services provided as well as tax funds. MSFES limited its review to how the addition of ambulances
would affect the current system and did not review any data or information regarding the
possibility of another EMS provider joining the current EMS system. Based on the current resources,
MSFES recommends the County focus on how to improve use of its current resources.

Section Four – Observations and Recommendations

Analysis of EMS and calls dispatched within the County and corresponding response
times by the county-owned EMS system and Fire Departments that provide ambulance
coverage.

Emergency service providers have been and continue to be judged on their performance by
measuring how fast they respond to emergencies. Response time certainly is one of many
important (arguably much more important) measures of an EMS system’s performance, so timely
response must continue to be one element of an EMS system’s appraisal. In fact, scrutinizing an
EMS system’s response time performance is still one of the few tangible methods of demonstrating
the quality of service delivery to the community and provides a way for politicians to hold the
system accountable.

One EMS performance yardstick that is nationally accepted and available for municipal and
career fire departments is the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) 1710 (Standard for the
Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations,
and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments). Representatives from a variety
of fire agencies and the International Association of City/County Managers formulated the
standard. As applied to EMS response, the standard establishes a five-minute period which
includes a turnout time (60 seconds) plus the responding time (240 seconds) for the arrival of a
unit staffed with a first responder or higher-level capability at an emergency medical incident.
This objective is to be met 90% of the time. If ALS service is dispatched (paramedic, AED
equipped), the standard specifies the arrival of an ALS company within a nine-minute time frame
(60-second turnout plus 480-second response) to incidents 90% of the time. In this ALS
circumstance, the five-minute first responder initial response must still be met.

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These NFPA 1710-time parameters are not arbitrary. They are primarily based on the fact that
specific clinical intervention is necessary if a cardiac arrest is to be survived. Cardiac arrest can
result in brain (permanent) death within 4 to 6 minutes. The American Heart Association explains
that cardiac arrest may be reversible if treated quickly with an electric shock and ALS intervention
to restore a normal heartbeat. This standard has been verified by studies showing that a victim's
chances of survival are reduced by 7%–10% with every minute that passes without defibrillation
and advanced life support intervention. Few attempts at resuscitation succeed after 10 minutes.

Based on available data, for the purpose

of this report MSFES defines the “response
time” as that being from the time of
station (or unit) notification to the time
the EMS vehicle arrives on the scene of
the emergency (wheels stopped) as
indicated via radio transmission to
dispatch (i.e., 60 second “turnout” or
“chute” time included). Time taken by
communication personnel and
dispatchers to process the 911call (call
intake to dispatch) is outside the scope of
this study is not addressed by this report.

Prior to the advent of computer-aided

dispatch (CAD), emergency units
recommended for dispatch to addresses
were based on the location of the closest
fire station, an area referred to as their
“first due.” With CAD and incorporating
automatic vehicle locator (AVL)
technology, dispatch recommendations
are now made based on an emergency
unit’s actual location and the one
determined closest to the emergency
address is sent. This technology is why
response times within zip codes are used
in this study rather than station response
data.
Figure 1: 9-1-1 Response Time Graphic

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The following maps depict call for service locations and response time1

Figure 3: Fire Department Response Times Figure 2: EMS Response Times

Fire Department Response Times EMS Response Times

(NFPA 1710 540 Seconds or Less)
(NFPA 1710 540 Seconds or Less)
2017 2017
Zipcode CHUTE RESPONSE BOTH 90% Zipcode CHUTE RESPONSE BOTH 90%
28701 01:00.0 14:48.1 15:48.1 11:22.0 28701 02:07.0 12:29.0 14:36.2 10:20.3
28704 01:09.9 05:14.5 06:24.4 06:48.7 28704 01:52.6 12:19.4 14:12.0 09:00.1
28709 01:22.2 05:53.6 07:15.7 07:17.0 28709 02:14.3 15:27.3 17:41.6 10:17.2
28711 01:08.8 16:28.3 17:37.1 09:07.3 28711 01:58.4 07:53.9 09:52.3 08:35.8
28715 00:40.5 17:07.5 17:47.9 12:04.2 28715 01:56.4 09:10.2 11:06.5 08:35.2
28730 01:08.9 05:09.0 06:17.9 07:01.8 28730 01:47.0 13:40.2 15:27.2 09:13.4
28732 01:09.5 06:36.8 07:46.3 08:02.2 28732 01:27.0 13:16.9 14:43.8 08:59.8
28748 01:35.1 06:02.6 07:37.7 07:31.2 28748 01:59.6 14:06.8 16:06.5 09:09.6
28753 02:12.6 10:41.4 12:54.0 10:19.5 28753 01:57.8 21:48.5 23:46.4 21:44.4
28778 01:03.8 10:36.1 11:39.8 08:41.8 28778 02:07.0 09:55.0 12:02.0 08:29.1
28787 01:14.7 07:32.1 08:46.8 08:03.3 28787 01:56.2 06:05.5 08:01.7 07:36.9
28801 00:34.1 07:26.4 08:00.5 07:49.3 28801 02:20.8 05:07.3 07:28.1 06:56.4
28803 01:04.8 06:10.4 07:15.2 07:49.0 28803 01:57.9 07:14.7 09:12.7 07:53.3
28804 01:02.4 10:23.1 11:25.5 08:28.3 28804 02:06.0 07:59.8 10:05.7 08:07.1
Figure 5: Avg. EMS Response Times
Figure 4: Avg. Fire Department Response Times

1Response times were calculated using only ALS condition codes. ALS condition codes were cross walked to ‘nature of dispatch’
data provided by the county. Management Solutions for Emergency Solutions used nature of dispatch instead of end result
conditions/ICD10/HCPCS codes as responders only know situational information based on what dispatch has provided prior to
arrival.

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EMS response times vary greatly across the county in no uniform manner, as seen in figures 2 and
3. (However, calls for service in areas near town centers and the Asheville suburbs had an overall
shorter response time than more rural parts of the County. This response time was not
unexpected. A nationwide study published by JAMA Surgery in 2017 analyzed 1.7 million EMS
responses in the US. It was found that the average wait time (initiation of the 911 call to arrival)
for EMS to arrive in suburban and urban areas was 6 minutes, while the average wait time in rural
areas was more than double that, at 13 minutes. Nearly one in ten 911 calls in rural zip codes
resulted in wait times of nearly 30 minutes. The researchers defined rural areas as having <2500
residents, suburban areas as having 2500 to 50,000 residents, and urban areas as having >50,000
residents.

The following table documents response data by zip code.

% of Total
Pop/sq Total <8 min # <10 mins >10 mins # Total Trips
Area Zip Code Population
mi Trips
County
of trips
<8 mins %
# of trips
<10 mins %
of trips
>10 mins %
<10 mins
Calls

Alexander 28701 3635 204 298 1% 63 21% 45 15% 191 64% 108
Arden 28704 18821 571 802 3% 481 60% 72 9% 249 31% 553
Barnardsville 28709 2225 42 230 1% 196 85% 5 2% 30 13% 201
Black Mountain 28711 13209 132 1659 6% 1012 61% 100 6% 557 34% 1112
Candler 28715 24582 316 2416 9% 1377 57% 315 13% 725 30% 1692
Fairview 28730 9133 184 554 2% 465 84% 22 4% 72 13% 487
Fletcher 28732 16491 386 255 1% 186 73% 26 10% 43 17% 212
Leicester 28748 11334 134 967 4% 629 65% 77 8% 262 27% 706
Marshall 28753 11670 44 60 0% 11 18% 13 22% 36 60% 550
Swannanoa 28778 10381 302 809 3% 372 46% 178 22% 251 31% 550
Weaverville 28787 19718 248 1483 6% 1142 77% 133 9% 222 15% 1275
Asheville 28801 15019 2955 3691 14% 3285 89% 221 6% 185 5% 3506
Asheville 28803 28693 749 3614 14% 2722 75% 199 6% 693 19% 2921
Asheville 28804 20507 772 1796 7% 1167 65% 269 15% 359 20% 1436
Asheville 28805 17620 679 2557 10% 1995 78% 307 12% 281 11% 2302
Asheville 28806 38550 1015 4849 19% 3443 71% 630 13% 776 16% 4063

County 242767 26040 100% 18546 2612 4932 21674

Figure 6: Trip and Response data by Zip Code

Summary of data.
Total County EMS dispatches 35360
Total critical care dispatches 26040
County wide response times less than 8 minutes 18546 76.4%
County wide response times 9 minutes or less 21158 77.7%
Suburban (and urban cluster) total dispatches 16507
Response times less than 8 minutes 12612 71.2%
Response times 9 minutes or less 14238 86.3%
Rural area total dispatches 9533
Responses times less than 8 minutes 5934 62.2%
Response times 9 minutes or less 6920 72.6%

While distance needed to be traveled is certainly a critical factor in the response time, other
factors will influence that time such as traffic and road conditions, time of day and weather. Also,
multiple calls for service in the same time frame depletes nearby units requiring EMS vehicles from

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areas further away to respond. Response areas with a traditionally higher volume of calls will
better meet that demand with a greater number of assigned vehicles than lower demand areas
with fewer units assigned. This increased concentration of resources allows for more capacity to
better handle multiple calls for service.

Figure 7: Reported Response Time Delays

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Analysis of whether the current EMS system including fire departments that bill
ambulance services within the County is meeting county goals and national standards
of care and response times.

Strengths
i. Resource Component. MSFES found that the current EMS system in Buncombe County, is a
well-planned and well thought out system. The County EMS has a fleet of fourteen (14)
ALS ambulances, with ten (10) of those ambulances staffed and staged throughout the
County ready to respond to emergencies. Barnardsville Fire Department, Leicester Fire
Department, Reems Creek Fire Department, and Riceville Fire Department each provide
one (1) ALS ambulance.

a. Fairview Fire Department has developed a system that allows them to respond one
(1) ambulance with two (2) paramedics to the first medical call. Upon arrival at the
scene and assessment of the patient, the paramedics establish if they both are
needed. If not needed, one (1) of the paramedics responds back to the Fire
Department and staffs the second ambulance. This seems to be excellent resource
allocation and provides more service to the community.

b. In 2013, the Skyland Fire Department added a paramedic level ambulance to its
fleet of fire apparatus and within two (2) years they added another 24/7
ambulance due to call volume. The Skyland Fire Department has recently cut their
response back to one ambulance 24/7 due to the County EMS Agency adding
another unit to the system, thus reducing the local call volume and revenue. The
Skyland Fire Department is continuing to evaluate the call volume and is willing to
staff both ambulances to necessary levels when the call volume rises again to the
level that justifies the need for both ambulances.

c. Buncombe County Rescue Squad provides one (1) staffed ambulance that can
respond to calls from 0900 to 2100, which covers high call volume time frames. They
also have a second unit to put in service when staffing is available and dependent
upon truck repair issues. With the vast number of resources, the County could be
protected by as many as twenty-four (24) ALS ambulances at one time.

ii. Response Times. As seen in this report in figure 6(pg. 8), the system is providing a well-
respected response time. The system provides response times below the national and
state averages and holds a better average response time than the two most closely
populated counties.

a. The system does not fully meet all of the requirements for response times addressing
EMS ambulance response outlined in the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) 1710 Standard. However, this standard is a guideline for agencies to build
upon and for which to strive. To date, MSFES is not aware of any emergency

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agency that is totally compliant with all NFPA applicable standards. The cost for an
agency to be in complete compliance with all applicable standards is simply not
feasible.

iii. Automatic Vehicle Location Systems (AVL). Each of the twenty-four (24) ambulances are
equipped with AVL that allows the County Communication Center to see the location of
all units at all times. When a medical call for service is received by the Communication
Center, the system sends the closest geographical ambulance. This measure helps to cut
response times to citizens and cuts overall costs by shortening response distance.

iv. EMS Fleet. The County replaced its entire fleet of ambulances last year and works to
replace all ambulances that are either four (4) years old or those that have 100,000 miles
of service life. These measures help to ensure newer and up-to-date equipment serve the
citizens of Buncombe County.

v. Working Relationships. The working relationship between the County and the non-profit
emergency organizations they partner with are worthy of praise. With this type of
relationship and the AVL system, these organizations have eliminated district boundaries,
allowing for a better service to citizens. This type of working relationship is not the norm
and should be commended, as many areas across the State still have well defined and
guarded boundaries and district lines.

vi. County Demographics. As comparison data for Buncombe County, we looked at the two
closest counties to Buncombe that were relative to size in population. The counties chosen
were Durham County and Union County.

Population Square Miles

Buncombe County 244,461 Buncombe County 660mi²
Durham County 282,081 Durham County 298mi²
Union County 208,498 Union County 640mi²

Ambulance Staffing Capabilities During Peak Times Non-Peak Times

Buncombe County 19 17
Durham County 19 10
Union County 14 11

Emergency Medical Calls Responded to in 2017

Buncombe County 35,000
Durham County 46,000
Union County 28,000

Figure 8: Comparative Demographic Data2

2 Population size was obtained from the 2016 national census reports.

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This data indicates that Buncombe County is within normal staffing limits of ambulances
within similar systems used for comparison. In Figure 8, the number of “Calls Responded
to in 2017” shows every EMS call received by the communication centers. There were
26,150 EMS calls dispatched to Buncombe County in 2017 warranting an emergency
response (i.e., lights and sirens). MSFES could not obtain data at the level of detail needed
from the other counties for this comparison to be shown, as it was not available due to
privacy concerns.
Weaknesses

i. Response Times - Your organization covers a significant square-mile radius. The chart
below identifies and outlines geographical areas where you could improve, and
improvement would allow for your County to comply with NFPA 1710. It is important to note
that this standard was designed for career fire departments dispatching EMS, not rural
volunteer fire departments dispatching EMS, which you have.

Fire Department Response Times (NFPA 1710 540 Seconds or Less) EMS Resposne Times (NFPA 1710 540 Seconds or Less)
MM:SS:ms MM:SS.ms
2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
28701 15:48.1 18:42.0 17:12.4 17:48.0 23:36.2 28701 14:36.2 14:27.5 15:48.9 15:56.7 16:31.4
28704 06:24.4 05:54.2 06:22.0 07:08.3 19:55.9 28704 14:12.0 12:29.4 10:28.3 09:04.5 10:05.4
28709 07:15.7 07:55.3 07:39.8 07:26.3 07:29.8 28709 17:41.6 14:19.6 13:38.3 15:02.6 16:23.4
28711 17:37.1 17:46.2 18:09.5 18:08.9 18:37.5 28711 09:52.3 09:52.9 10:30.3 10:12.0 10:10.0
28715 17:47.9 18:32.3 18:21.3 20:19.3 19:48.8 28715 11:06.5 11:12.3 10:33.7 10:59.6 11:25.6
28730 06:17.9 06:11.4 05:59.0 05:55.3 22:34.9 28730 15:27.2 18:25.5 15:01.5 14:18.5 14:37.6
28732 07:46.3 06:58.2 07:23.8 08:15.9 21:44.0 28732 14:43.8 33:05.4 14:28.5 12:34.0 13:20.9
28748 07:37.7 07:35.5 07:56.8 09:14.9 08:19.3 28748 16:06.5 15:29.4 15:49.4 15:44.7 14:51.0
28753 12:54.0 13:06.5 12:12.7 12:38.8 12:01.0 28753 23:46.4 22:46.8 21:36.8 21:14.1 23:11.0
28778 11:39.8 11:33.8 11:02.3 11:42.1 12:42.4 28778 12:02.0 11:51.3 11:51.5 11:45.9 11:37.5
28787 08:46.8 08:37.4 08:38.8 08:42.1 08:41.9 28787 08:01.7 08:32.9 08:37.8 09:01.3 09:02.4
28801 08:00.5 08:55.7 09:09.4 09:54.2 08:54.6 28801 07:28.1 06:50.4 06:36.8 06:58.1 06:35.6
28803 07:15.2 06:58.0 07:34.4 09:16.7 13:17.2 28803 09:12.7 09:08.0 08:50.3 08:11.9 08:50.5
28804 11:25.5 11:48.0 11:42.1 11:45.6 12:21.1 28804 10:05.7 09:37.7 09:38.1 10:37.9 10:30.9

Figure 10: Avg. Fire Department Response Times Figure 9: Avg. EMS Response Times

Buncombe County has already implemented a respectable system that is larger than
other counties of like kind. To improve response times, the most economical solution would
be to move resources into the 28701, 28715, 28753, 28778, and 28804 zip codes. An
increase of 9% in these areas should allow you to meet the NFPA 1710 Standard. 3

When speaking with the Skyland Fire Chief, we found that he had downgraded his staffing
of a second ambulance due to the County adding another ambulance into the system
and the current call volume not supporting the economic feasibility of a second 24-hour
shift. Relocating a County ambulance, or one of Skyland’s ambulances may help to
achieve lower response times in the above-indicated areas. If you were to relocate one
of the County ambulances during the day or 24/7 into one of the above locations, and
then allow Skyland FD to return their second ambulance to a 24-hour response, you might

3Note: These numbers were pulled from data provided by the county and are from 2017. MSFES chose to use zip-codes instead of
district lines, as your organizations use AVL and district lines would not be useful. Zip-codes allowed MSFES to focus on identifying areas
with deficiencies.

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be able to achieve the NFPA 1710 standard. It certainly seems the most beneficial solution
with the least financial impact.

ii. Chute Times or Couch Times – NFPA 1710 also addresses the times between when your
agencies are notified of a call to when they are in-route to the call. This time is called
“Chute” or “Couch” times, and NFPA 1710 sets a standard of 60 seconds for this period.
When MSFES reviewed your County’s 2017 data, we identified that the fire departments
are almost meeting the standard of 60 seconds overall, but the County EMS agency is not
and most of their couch times are almost 2 minutes.

In MSFES’s staff’s experience as former fire chiefs, they recommended standards of 60

seconds during the day and 90 seconds at night for employees to be out the door, with
wheels rolling. These standards provided firefighters with a good goal, but also insured
their safety by providing additional time to ensure they were fully awake when responding
at night. MSFES believes that the fire departments and County EMS agency could improve
on the couch times, as their high call volume is during the day and there should be no
problem in meeting the 60 second standard during the daylight hours.

MSFES feels that with management pushing for quicker couch times, your County should
automatically see quicker overall response times. This strategy is by far is the cheapest fix
to improving the current system and would help you meet the NFPA 1710 standard.

Analysis of the strengths and weakness of the current system and how the current
system can gain efficiencies.

i. Effect on Response Times. When it comes to improving response times, there are two
options. The first option would be to move existing resources to areas that show a
deficiency. This option assumes that you have the resources to keep up with the demand
or call volume currently. Option 2 would be to add more resources to the system.

When speaking with county staff, we found that there is an external company that wants
to join your system and add resources. The addition of an external company would
equate to the second option, as adding ambulances in the right areas would help the
system reduce response times. MSFES would not recommend that the external company
provide county-wide coverage, but instead be used to target areas with lower response
times, such as Alexander (28701) and Marshal (28573). The County could quickly meet the
NFPA 1710 Standard by doing this. However, a for-profit company may not want to be
restricted to providing service to a less densely populated area such as the 28701-zip code
with only 204 people per square mile. The data received from the County only shows 298
trips from that area in 2017.

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In MSFES’s opinion, trying to make a profit from that number would be almost impossible.
Using Leicester Fire Department’s numbers, which is the closest resource to the 28701-zip
code, if the company were to provide the transport to all 298 trips, they would only receive
approximately $80,000 in payments. We do not feel that would not generate enough
income to support an ambulance alone, running less than one call per day. An outside
company may help to reduce response times in deficient areas; however, there may not
be enough profit for such a company to sustain the economic costs of business.

ii. Level of Care. The level of care provided could be the same as it is currently, so long as
the County’s service agreement holds an external company to the same standard of care
as is currently being provided by the County agency and other non-profits within the
system. Such agreement would need to define expectations and qualitative/quantitative
measures, and the County could audit an external company to ensure the current
standard of care is being upheld. The County already has this process in place with existing
non-profits.

The County would have to monitor an external company to ensure that profits are not the
driving force behind the level of patient care being provided and that “quick turnaround”
and “high trip areas” are not abused to allow for higher profit margins. Integrating a for-
profit company into a non-profit system may be a challenge but could provide desired
results. We would caution the County if allowing an external company to enter, to follow
a strict service agreement and to make it clear that quicker response times to citizens is
the overall goal, not profits.

iii. Economic Impact. In the emergency service field, there is always an economic impact to
service levels. Government agencies are constantly evaluating their service level and how
to provide a better service at a cost acceptable to the citizens. Placing an ambulance
on every corner would mean that citizens could have their very own response team within
seconds. This step would surely improve the survival rates of patients; however,
communities and agencies simply cannot afford to do this or are not willing to pay for it.

We want the County to understand how EMS funding works. The EMS system bills for
services. As such, it is called a “self-supported” program or division within the government
agency or non-profit agency. To identify who pays the bills, we look at what is called a
“Payer Mix.” This data shows us who is paying for the service, as detailed in the table
below:

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Facility
Entity Medicare Medicaid Insurance Patient
Contract
Barnardsville 34% 9% 34% 22% 0%
County EMS Agency 38% 13% 30% 19% 0%
Fairview 58% 12% 18% 13% 0%
Rescue Squad 56% 10% 25% 10% 0%
Leicester 35% 18% 31% 14% 2%
Reems Creek 47% 7% 30% 15% 0%
Riceville 45% 11% 26% 16% 3%
Skyland Fire and Rescue Corp 42% 9% 33% 15% 1%
Figure 12: Payer Mix Break Down by the Organization4

Figure 11: Overall Payer Mix

Breakdown

As an example, we’ll use the County’s EMS agency. The County is being reimbursed by
Medicare for 41% of its total income received from the billing process. The Payer Mix can also
be used to recognize other trends, such as poverty areas and aging populations. As an
example, Fairview Fire Department has a 58% Medicare reimbursement over Bernardsville Fire
Department’s 34%. This may indicate that Fairview’s population is an aging population.
Leicester Fire Department’s Medicaid rate of 18% and 35% Medicare rate of reimbursement,
may indicate a younger population with more poverty.

All of these numbers relate back to billing and payments received. Another number
constantly monitored is “Collection Rate.” The organization providing service may send a bill,
and people simply do not pay or pay less than the billed amount. The data chart below,
shows how your County EMS system is being financially supported:

Entity Trips Net Charges Payments CPT PPT Net Coll. %

Barnardsville 303 $128,655.03 $91,954.09 $424.60 $303.48 71%
County EMS Agency 29014 $12,580,416.40 $8,298,890.19 $433.60 $286.03 66%
Rescue Squad 3870 $1,430,019.96 $1,045,847.42 $369.51 $270.24 73%
Fairview 830 $392,051.29 $262,367.15 $472.35 $316.11 67%
Leicester 645 $320,297.83 $205,032.09 $496.59 $317.88 64%
Reems Creek 1288 $385,573.13 $288,042.82 $299.36 $223.64 75%
Riceville 1276 $530,694.83 $350,044.70 $415.91 $274.33 66%
Skyland Fire and Rescue 2388 $1,111,800.00 $782,241.39 $465.58 $327.57 70%
Totals 39614 $16,879,508.47 $11,324,419.85 $422.19 $289.91 69%
Figure 13: Billing and Collections breakdown5

A collection rate of 70% is average or above average throughout North Carolina. MSFES
asked Henderson County Rescue and Transylvania County for their collection rates.
Henderson County had an approximate collection rate of 80% while Transylvania County had

4 Note: Percentages were pulled from data collected from the organizations billing companies and may change if someone pays a
bill, even years from the date of this report.
5 Calculations vary on net collections percentages across the county as billing companies can use either net or gross charges in the

calculations. MSFES used Net Charges within all net collections formulas

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an approximate collection rate of 81%. Henderson County Rescue uses the same billing
company as your County EMS Agency. Transylvania County provides billing in-house.

To better understand an economic impact, MSFES looked at Fairview Fire Department.

Fairview had 830 trips they billed for in 2017. Out of those trips, they billed a total of $392,051.29,
but only received 67% of the billed funds. This means that Fairview Fire Department, who
provides two ambulances, only received $262,367.15 to support the cost of providing two
ambulances. The costs to Fairview for those two ambulances would include the normal salary
range of someone trained to the level of a paramedic, the medical supplies used, the
equipment used, annual wear and tear on the vehicle, and the cost of replacing the
ambulances. Fairview Fire Department is most likely close to or currently supplementing its
EMS service with fire taxes.

If an external company arrived today and started running calls in the Fairview district, running
half of the 830 trips would take approximately $131,000 from Fairview’s income. If this were to
happen, Fairview would most likely need to cut its second ambulance and terminate staff.
This change wouldn’t provide any more of a service than is in place now. It would simply
reduce the resources used by Fairview Fire Department and allow the external company to
provide a service. The second option would be for the County to allow Fairview to increase
its tax rate by one cent to cover the loss of income. This increase in the tax would allow for
more resources, though not needed in that area, but may result in a reduction in response
times.

Analysis of how engaging a for-profit company to provide county-wide EMS coverage

would affect response times, level of care and the economic impact to the current
system.

i. Response Times – As stated before in this study, there is no doubt that allowing another
company to add more staffed ALS ambulances to the current EMS system would reduce
response times within the County. If the goal of the County is to reduce response times and
it is not concerned about cost, then not only allowing the external company to run calls
but allow your fire departments and rescue squads to staff and respond all of their
ambulances as well. Allowing such a vast number of groups to respond would result in a
huge reduction in response times and will set records when comparing response times with
other counties of like kind.

ii. Level of Care – As stated in this study, if the County allows for the external company to start
providing ALS services, the County needs to enter into a service agreement. The
agreement should set key performance indicators and minimum requirements on the level
of care required. The county should inspect the new organization periodically throughout
the year to ensure that they are providing such level of care as detailed and required
within the service agreement.

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iii. Economic Impact - To believe simply allowing another EMS provider to join the existing
system would not add cost to the County is not correct. Every call the new provider would
run is pulled from an agency already in place to respond. At this time, the new provider
would not be added to keep up with increasing call volumes, as you have fire
departments and rescue squads within the County reducing resources when ambulances
are added to the County fleet already. MSFES recommends that you consider the
following questions in making your decision:

I. If you allowed an external company to add multiple ambulances into the

system, would you require the non-profit organizations in the current system to
reduce staff and resources already in place?

OR

II. Would you allow an increase in taxes to offset the loss of revenue by your non-
profit organizations and your County EMS agency?

Section Five – Closing Statement

Management Solutions for Emergency Services would like to thank Buncombe County for
allowing us to prepare this study of its EMS System. As you can see with the above
suggestions, comments, and data, your County has built a good medical delivery system,
and you should be proud of it. It is not every day that MSFES see counties working as
efficiently as you do with fire departments and rescue squads. This partnership or working
relationship has built and sustained your system and allows it to be one of the best we
have seen.

With the success of the current system, MSFES are hesitant to suggest allowing an external
company to enter the system. The data clearly shows that you do not have a need for
them at this time and should you see an increase in call volume we would recommend
you allow your current system to expand to it fullest extent first, before adding to it.

As in any system, if you add something to it, it will change the current system. The biggest
recommendation from MSFES is that before you add something new to your system,
make sure you determine the possible impacts to the system and that those are the
desired outcomes.

***************************************END OF STUDY*********************************************

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Appendix A – Supplemental Data Analysis

Facility
Entity Medicare % Medicaid % Insurance % Patient % %
Contract
Barnardsville 104 34% 28 9% 104 34% 67 22% 0
EMS 11083 38% 3830 13% 8559 30% 5542 19% 0
Rescue Squad 2148 56% 392 10% 960 25% 372 10% 0
Fairview VFD 481 58% 100 12% 149 18% 108 13% 0
Leicester 223 35% 122 19% 202 31% 91 14% 11 2%
Reems Creek 611 47% 100 8% 381 30% 198 15% 0
Riceville 576 45% 140 11% 327 26% 198 16% 36 3%
Skyland 1010 42% 222 9% 778 33% 356 15% 21 1%
Total Trips 16236 4933 11461 6931 68

Entity Trips Net Charges Payments CPT PPT Net Coll. %

Barnardsville 303 $128,655.03 $91,954.09 $424.60 $303.48 71%
County EMS Agency 29014 $12,580,416.40 $8,298,890.19 $433.60 $286.03 66%
Rescue Squad 3870 $1,430,019.96 $1,045,847.42 $369.51 $270.24 73%
Fairview 830 $392,051.29 $262,367.15 $472.35 $316.11 67%
Leicester 645 $320,297.83 $205,032.09 $496.59 $317.88 64%
Reems Creek 1288 $385,573.13 $288,042.82 $299.36 $223.64 75%
Riceville 1276 $530,694.83 $350,044.70 $415.91 $274.33 66%
Skyland Fire and Rescue 2388 $1,111,800.00 $782,241.39 $465.58 $327.57 70%
Totals 39614 $16,879,508.47 $11,324,419.85 $422.19 $289.91 69%

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 EMS Response Time Averages

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 Fire Department Response Time Averages

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Fire Department Response Times

(NFPA 1710 540 Seconds or Less)
2017
Zipcode CHUTE RESPONSE BOTH 90%
28701 01:00.0 14:48.1 15:48.1 11:22.0
28704 01:09.9 05:14.5 06:24.4 06:48.7
28709 01:22.2 05:53.6 07:15.7 07:17.0
28711 01:08.8 16:28.3 17:37.1 09:07.3
28715 00:40.5 17:07.5 17:47.9 12:04.2
28730 01:08.9 05:09.0 06:17.9 07:01.8
28732 01:09.5 06:36.8 07:46.3 08:02.2
28748 01:35.1 06:02.6 07:37.7 07:31.2
28753 02:12.6 10:41.4 12:54.0 10:19.5
28778 01:03.8 10:36.1 11:39.8 08:41.8
28787 01:14.7 07:32.1 08:46.8 08:03.3
28801 00:34.1 07:26.4 08:00.5 07:49.3
28803 01:04.8 06:10.4 07:15.2 07:49.0
28804 01:02.4 10:23.1 11:25.5 08:28.3

EMS Response Times

(NFPA 1710 540 Seconds or Less)
2017
Zipcode CHUTE RESPONSE BOTH 90%
28701 02:07.0 12:29.2 14:36.2 10:20.3
28704 01:52.6 12:19.4 14:12.0 09:00.1
28709 02:14.3 15:27.3 17:41.6 10:17.2
28711 01:58.4 07:53.9 09:52.3 08:35.8
28715 01:56.4 09:10.2 11:06.5 08:35.2
28730 01:47.0 13:40.2 15:27.2 09:13.4
28732 01:27.0 13:16.9 14:43.8 08:59.8
28748 01:59.6 14:06.8 16:06.5 09:09.6
28753 01:57.8 21:48.5 23:46.4 21:44.4
28778 02:07.0 09:55.0 12:02.0 08:29.1
28787 01:56.2 06:05.5 08:01.7 07:36.9
28801 02:20.8 05:07.3 07:28.1 06:56.4
28803 01:57.9 07:14.7 09:12.7 07:53.3
28804 02:06.0 07:59.8 10:05.7 08:07.1

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