Ambulance Board Discusses House 3, Hospital Changes
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BY MARK EVANS
STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD
Work is progressing on the new Ste. Genevieve Ambulance District House No. 2 near Weingarten. Director Kendall Shrum reported that the garage ceiling was being hung, during his report at the Sept. 15 ambulance board meeting.
The garage doors would be installed this week, he said.
The concrete in the bays and on the porches will be sealed. They are waiting for the landing lights on the helipad before they pour the concrete. They will use a pulverizer on the skid steer to taper out the dirt to break up clods and sticks. The loan papers are signed and all goes payments are made through Bloomsdale Bank to the Abstract office.
BUDGET CONCERNS
It will be a tough budget to plan for this year with a lot of things to consider. The board is looking at postponing the age 55 retirement option. It was recommended to look at the current cost of living index. It is possibly around 3%. Shrum will do a survey to see if employees prefer raises or if the age 55 retirement would be the majority employees’ priority.
We are taking delivery on a new truck in November and then we are expected to have two truck remounts in 2026.
The board is looking at a 25-year loan option for the House 3 new build. The loan will not be closed until the old house is sold. With the age of the air conditioning units, the board will need to plan building improvements of possibly $20,000 annually.
It is possible that the sales tax still has not bottomed out. It is going to be a challenging year to budget. There will be an additional meeting in October for budget planning probably a week prior to the regular meeting.
REGULATIONS
There are new regulations for ambulance districts. There is a requirement of three hours per term. Currently, all of the board members have completed the board member training. The requirement is at least 50% compliance.
The board’s attorney will make a video to review topics for the board to view on an annual basis to maintain compliance. Shrum has completed the required CEU training several years ago to fill the requirements for administrator training.
The regulations also include ALS trucks. They are requiring that no more than 10% of runs can be formed out to other agencies in mutual aid. They are requiring a financial audit every three years. The district has an audit annually and feel annually is still the best option.
HOSPITAL CHANGES
Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital’s decision to close its labor and delivery services will impact the ambulance district.
Shrum said they have to be looking and planning for future. This may mean more 911 calls get transported out of the county. It is the board’s goal to get patients to the right place the first time.
SHRUM’S REPORT
During Shrum’s monthly report, he gave call numbers for the month and the year to date.
In August the district responded to 236 calls, down from 250 in August 2024, but up from 226 two years ago. Of those, 165 were emergency calls, down from 176 a year ago, but bout even with the 167 emergency callas in August 2023.
House 1 responded to 89, House 2 in Bloomsdale 40 and House 3 near Weingarten 36.
There were 66 transfers, bout even with last August’s 68 and up from the 57 transfers in August 2023.
Of the transfers, 23 were by House 1, 19 from House 2 and 24 from House 3.
For the year, there had been 1,889 calls through August, up from 1,804 in 2024 and 1,745 in 2023.