After the Term is Up, MDH No Longer in the Ambulance Business
Following last week’s McDonough District Hospital Board meeting, which included a lengthy discussion about MDH’s termination of the Lifeguard Ambulance contract, MDH CEO Bill Murdock, County Board Chair Eric Blakeley and Macomb Mayor Mike Inman met with Macomb Lifeguard staff Tuesday to discuss how to keep ambulance services operating in the county.
At Lifeguard’s request, Murdock, Inman and Blakeley met to work on a possible solution. At Tuesday’s meeting, MDH verbally agreed to enter into a new one-year contract with Lifeguard, effective May 1. According to Murdock, MDH is providing a subsidy of around $180,000 for the new one-year term, which mirrors the contract that was previously in place with Lifeguard before Chief Nursing Officer Wayne Laramie negotiated the new fiveyear contract. After April 30, 2027, MDH will step away from providing a subsidy for ambulance services.
“We are not budgeting to subsidize the ambulance services after the one-year commitment,” the hospital CEO added. “We expect a multiyear agreement to be in place between Lifeguard and other entities within 12 months to avoid a disruption of services.
“MDH is proud to provide financial support for the ambulance service for over 50 years without a burden to the property owners of McDonough County,” Murdock said. “Rural healthcare is challenging and a change is needed at MDH to ensure strength and stability is returned for the future viability of the organization.”
Last month, MDH notified Lifeguard that the county hospital was terminating the ambulance service’s contract effective May 3, just five months after a new five-year contract with Lifeguard went into effect. The contract Laramie negotiated would cost MDH $600,000/year or $3.1 million over the course of five years, up from the previous $180,000/ year the hospital had been paying Lifeguard. Murdock told The Community News Brief in an interview following the announcement that the new contract was not sustainable.
Kelly Martin, public relations specialist for Lifeguard’s parent company Global Medical Response, confirmed that Lifeguard Ambulance Service has reached a one-year agreement in principle with MDH. Martin noted this agreement ensures uninterrupted ambulance coverage for the community while discussions continue toward a longer-term agreement.
“We value the opportunity to continue working with McDonough District Hospital and remain focused on ensuring the community receives dependable, high-quality emergency care,” she said.
At last week’s MDH Board meeting, County Board Chair Blakeley told board members the county has received hundreds of calls from area residents – most not positive – since the cancellation announcement was made by MDH. Murdock also confirmed at the April board meeting that the hospital’s end goal was to exit the ambulance service entirely and return responsibility back to the county.
During Wednesday’s County Board Finance Committee meeting, Blakeley said while he’s happy with the one-year agreement between the hospital and Lifeguard, he reaffirmed his previous statement that he’s unsure if the MDH board has thought about the ramifications of the hospital’s move away from providing emergency response services.
“I think the hospital board needs to hold the administration’s feet to the fire. I’d like to see this board get more active as I think they’re kept in the dark, and I’d like to see the community interact more with the hospital board” he said during the committee meeting. “It’s not the county’s place to provide ambulance services, but at this point, I don’t think we have a choice. I’ve already talked to four of the six vendors that serve this region, and I’m happy we have a year to figure this out rather than 45 days so we can do this right.”
Blakeley noted that the year timeline gives the County Board time to get an ambulance subsidy on the FY27 budget. He told The Community News Brief after Wednesday’s meeting that they will try to fund the subsidy, hopefully at a term of around $180,000, which he considers manageable, by moving some funds around so taxes will not need to be raised to support the service.
“Maybe we’re letting them (MDH) off the hook too easily, but we have to look out for the citizens of our county. We cannot have a disruption in ambulance services and we cannot go without,” he concluded. “If someone calls 911 for a medical issue, someone needs to show up to help.”
Blakeley added that MDH wants the entire service off their Macomb campus, so besides selecting an ambulance provider, the county will be looking at facilities to house the emergency vehicles, as well as provide living quarters for employees on call.
According to Inman, Lifeguard reassured the city and county leaders Tuesday that they intend to remain here to provide services for the region in the long-term.
“Collectively, we were able to resolve this issue in the short-term. This is a countywide service that we cannot go without, and I’m grateful to Lifeguard for stepping up and remaining in our county as they sort through this with MDH,” the mayor added. “Our community and our county need a hospital here and we need an ambulance service. We cannot have a thriving community without a hospital that provides emergency services. I believe, like many others in the community, the obligation is on the hospital, and has been for over 50 years, to provide these services to the residents of our county.”
In addition to planning to cease its ambulance service, the hospital is eliminating other non-core services, including its sleep lab for an estimated $100,000 in savings, as well as others that Murdock could not share publicly. He did share that those other non-core services that will be cut will save the hospital “upwards of $1 million.”
As for returning to an in-house service, which was in place until former CEO Kenny Boyd eliminated that service in 2017, that could cost the hospital anywhere from $3-4 million annually, and MDH will not consider this option, the CEO said. The contractual service with Lifeguard began in 2018.
McDonough County Ambulance History On June 5, 1970, the county board voted unanimously to fulfill the need for a county ambulance service, and “file with the proper state and federal agencies for financial assistance on this matter, with the purpose in mind of providing a full ambulance services for all residents of said County” and that the ambulance service be provided to the county by McDonough District Hospital, “who shall administer and service said operation on a contract basis with McDonough County, the hospital to perform and maintain said service at actual cost without profit.”
Under Illinois’ 1973 Public Act 78-456, non-home rule counties were authorized to provide emergency ambulance service to or from points within or without the county; or to combine with other units of government for the purpose of providing ambulance service. Before the county provides the operation of an ambulance service, an ordinance must be passed by a majority of the county board. Once passed, the Board may provide or operate an ambulance service, or contract with a private person, hospital, corporation or another governmental unit for the operation of ambulance service or subsidize the service.
A new ordinance was passed in 1981 that required the county to purchase a new ambulance for the hospital.
