Wilmington needs ambulance services. To get them, city may pay Saint Francis up to $3.5M
Wilmington is eying a $3.5 million contract with Saint Francis Hospital to provide emergency ambulance services within city borders after months of negotiations between the city and the healthcare provider.
City Mayor Mike Purzycki on Tuesday submitted a budget amendment to enter into a one-year contract with Saint Francis to ensure continued emergency medical services, with language allowing the provider to be paid up to $3.5 million.
The proposal — which will be weighed by City Council during its Jan. 18 regular meeting — comes following months of negotiations between hospital administrators and city representatives, said Jason Griffith, communications manager for Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic — the owner of Saint Francis Hospital.
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“For the last five months, Saint Francis Hospital administrators have been negotiating in good faith to update a long-term legacy EMS contract with the city of Wilmington,” he said. “Proposed changes to the contract included an equitable cost-sharing arrangement with the city.”
A ‘legacy contract’
The hospital has been the city’s provider since 2008, “absorbing 100% of patient transport costs,” Griffith said.
Wilmington officials, in a news release Tuesday, said the hospital was able to provide the services without cost to the city because “individuals who were transported to the hospital were billed by St. Francis for employee and equipment costs through an individual’s health insurance program. St. Francis explained to the city that the billing process was no longer covering the true cost of the service.”
Hospital administrators provided an initial proposal last October, which was rejected by the city, Griffith said.
Wilmington then went out to bid for the service, but only Saint Francis answered the call, city officials said.
The bid was $3.5 million.
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The new agreement
Griffith said the hospital’s second proposal, presented in December to Wilmington officials, was “verbally accepted.”
This agreement, as described by the city in a news release Tuesday, ensures continued ambulance services in 2024 within Wilmington’s borders. City officials said Saint Francis was “faced with severe financial difficulties” that necessitated exploring “alternative funding options.”
While the agreement covers services for this year, city officials said in the release that internally they are considering adding an EMS transport unit within the Wilmington Fire Department.
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City officials weren’t aware of any time the fire department has offered this service in the past.
The agreement also stipulates that Saint Francis “continue to aggressively bill individuals who are transported in order to reduce the need for the city subsidy” and jointly audit the billing process with Wilmington officials.
The City Council could vote on the budget amendment as early as Thursday, Jan. 18.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Wilmington eyes contract with Saint Francis to keep ambulance services
