Measuring the economic impact of county ambulance services
'Since 2001, all counties have been required to provide ambulance services,' Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) said in March.
When the law was first introduced in the state legislature, it required any municipality that does not provide ambulance services to reimburse the county for a portion of the cost of the service. However, it was amended to have the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations' first look into the economic impact.
MARCH : Mt. Juliet EMS has responded to over 6,900 calls since launching 2 years ago
'So, the ambulances that were here in Mt. Juliet would oftentimes be responding to calls, and we would have to wait for other ambulances to come from the county into the city,' Mt. Juliet's EMS chief Eric Newman, told News 2.
Newman was tasked with building an EMS service inside the fire department several years ago. He said Mt. Juliet is one of ten fire departments in the state that provides EMS transport.
'For as long as I know, Sumner County like most counties in the state, has provided ambulance services,' Gallatin Mayor Paige Brown said.
In Gallatin, meanwhile, the city relies on Sumner County to run their ambulance transport.
'The thing that we have done in Gallatin — and some other cities have done this as well — is we have really elevated the role of our fire department in getting them trained as EMTs and some as paramedics,' Brown said.
Brown said firefighters can provide life-saving measures before an ambulance arrives.
However, the state is looking into the potential economic strain county ambulance transport has on them.
'I actually serve on TACIR, so it will be interesting to see that study and what the economic impact is because it's going to be a very large impact,' Brown said. 'And when most governments are doing the most that they can with the least burden on taxpayers as they possibly can, it would change things.'
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Brown said if the law stayed in its original language, it would have negatively impacted taxpayers in Gallatin. which could still happen after TACIR completes the review.
'I imagine a scenario where we have to negotiate this give and take — we are all better off just remaining good partners with one another,' Brown said.
Once TACIR completes its study, the findings and recommendations will then be reported with any proposed legislation.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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