Pella Community Ambulance becomes city-operated service

Emily Hawk, The Oskaloosa Herald, Iowa
·2 min read

Jul. 1—PELLA — Pella Community Ambulance is officially a city-operated department.

Effective Friday, July 1, the nonprofit Pella Community Ambulance will be operated by the city of Pella. The Pella City Council approved the final transfer agreement during a special meeting Wednesday.

The transfer is due to an increase in calls over the past two years, which reached nearly 1,900 in 2021. The increase in calls combined with a decrease in volunteer/part-time staff has required Pella Community Ambulance to hire full-time staff in order to provide quality services to the community.

Further, a substantial number of service calls are Medicare or Medicaid patients, which have a lower reimbursement rate compared to patients who are privately insured. This has caused financial hardship for Pella Community Ambulance as a nonprofit organization. Additionally, the organization is not eligible for state grant reimbursements to help offset lower reimbursement rates because they are a nonprofit.

The city allocated $300,000 to support city ambulance services in their current fiscal year budget. As a government-operated department, the ambulance service will now be eligible for state grant reimbursements. Council also approved ambulance service fees.

A temporary advisory committee, which consists of current Pella Community Ambulance board members, was also established by council. Dave Beukelman, Ryan Thoreson, Jonathan De Reus, Steve Van Wyk, Marty Racheter and Mike Vermeer were appointed to the committee. All 12 full-time employees and 25 paid-per-call or part-time employees at Pella Community Ambulance will continue their employment with the city with a wage increase of 3.2%.

The ambulance service will continue to provide service outside city limits until Dec. 31 of this year. After that, any services outside city limits will have to be established through agreements approved by the city council. Council will also have the authority to establish service fees to cover operating costs.

"We believe the Pella Community Ambulance provides an essential service to the city and to the community — not only the city of Pella, but also the surrounding area," says City Administrator Mike Nardini. "We also believe it's imperative that service continues, and in order to continue and be on solid footing, they have to be adequately funded. That's the whole purpose of this transfer."

Emily Hawk is the associate editor of the Ottumwa Courier and the Oskaloosa Herald. She can be reached at ehawk@oskyherald.com.