The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Hancock County Ambulance Is Focus Of December County Board Meeting

The Hancock County Board acted on three ambulance matters at its meting on Tuesday, December 17, 2013.

The Hancock County Board voted to sever the EMT employee sharing/reimbursement agreement with Memorial Hospital Association. Next, the county board voted to sever the ambulance supply agreement with Memorial Hospital.

Also, the county board approved a Non-Emergency Transfer Pay Schedule for EMT's and paramedics which will be employed by Hancock County. Each vote carried with 13 "yes" votes. County board member Dan Asbury, also a member of the Memorial Hospital Association Board of Directors, abstained. County board member Tom Scheetz was absent.

Memorial Hospital has operated an ambulance through an agreement with Hancock County since noon on Friday, January 1, 1971. Funeral directors, who had provided ambulance service, had notified Hancock County they would discontinue their ambulance services in 1970. Consequently, Hancock County successfully pursued ambulance agreements with Memorial Hospital and the former La Harpe Hospital.

In other business the county board:

• approved a $1,000 deductible health insurance only, no dental or eye care, with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The monthly cost to employees follows:

Employee Share of 2014 Premiums

Employee only ($239) Employee & spouse ($710) Employee & children ($604) Family ($871)

• subcontracted the IKE planning grant transportation and land use maps to POLIS Center of University of Indiana - Purdue University in Indianapolis in the amount of $24,000. On roll call voting "Yes" were Asbury, Castlebury, Cramer, Finney, Huston, Little, Schell, Stuckwisch, Walker, and Gray, totaling ten. Voting "No" were Bollin, Bolton, Postle, and Smith, totaling four. The motion carried.
• subcontracted the IKE planning grant random sample survey to the Western Illinois University Institute for Environmental Studies in Macomb in the amount of $5,200. On roll call voting "Yes" were Asbury, Bollin, Castlebury, Cramer, Finney, Huston, Little, Schell, Stuckwisch, Walker, and Gray, totaling eleven. Voting "No" were Bollin, Postle, and Smith, totaling three. The motion carried.
• approved a bid for the purchase of a 2014 Ford F 350 truck chassis from Carson Motors of Carthage, in the amount of $21,575.76. Another submitted bid was nonconforming and slightly higher.
• approved a meeting schedule of the County Board of the County of Hancock for the year 2014:
• Tuesday January 21
• Tuesday February 18
• Tuesday March 18
• Tuesday April 22
• Tuesday May 20
• Tuesday June 17
• Tuesday July 22
• Tuesday August 19
• Tuesday September 16
• Tuesday October 21
• Tuesday November 18
• Monday December 1
• Tuesday December 16

The next board meeting will be held on January 21, 2014, at the County Board Room, Courthouse, Carthage, at 6:30 p.m.