BOARD OF DIRECTORS LeeMemorial.org/boardofdirectors June 6, 2013 Dear Board of County Commissioners: Please accept this letter in support of Ambitrans Medical Transport, Inc.’s renewal application of its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (“COPCN”). Ambitrans is seeking both a renewal of its existing COPCN and an amendment on behalf of Lee Memorial Health System (“LMHS”) to provide additional inter-facility services. Ambitrans currently provides basic and advanced life support ambulance services (“BLS” and “ALS” respectively) for in-county psychiatric and Veterans Administration inter-facility transports, as well as out-of- county inter-facility transports, including acute care, and as an additional inter-facility provider for LMHS when Lee County EMS is unavailable. Ambitrans is now seeking to amend its COPCN to allow it to also perform in- county inter-facility transports. The national healthcare trend for multi-healthcare facilities, such as LMHS, is to create specialized facilities within communities to meet the challenges caused by the national shortage of physicians. LMHS has remained at the forefront of this trend and has already consolidated many of its specialties within its hospitals: Lee Memorial Hospital now specializes in trauma and strokes; Gulf Coast Medical Center specializes in strokes and cardiology; and pediatrics are centralized at the Golisano Children’s hospital located within HealthPark Medical Center. These specialized environments, along with efficient use of advanced technology, enhance patient care and maximize patient safety. LMHS’s consolidation of specialties means that LMHS must move large numbers of patients between its hospitals so that each patient can receive the most comprehensive, individualized care. Most of these patients are very ill, and must be transported by ALS ambulance. Lee County EMS is currently the only provider authorized by the Board of County Commissioners to perform ALS and BLS ambulance transports within Lee County. While Lee County EMS has always made great efforts to accommodate LMHS’s requests, Lee County EMS’s primary missions requires it to prioritize emergency 911 pre-hospital transportation above LMHS’s non- emergency ALS and BLS ambulance requests. LMHS’s demand for inter-facility transports has been consistently increasing, and LMHS expects its demand for ALS and BLS ambulance services to grow with the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In order to deliver the best patient care and adapt to dynamic changes within the healthcare industry, it is essential that LMHS have greater autonomy and control over its patient transfers and move patients between its facilities in a consistently timely and efficient manner. LMHS also requires a dedicated ambulance upon which LMHS may place a critical-care/emergency department-trained registered nurse (“RN”) who follows LMHS physician orders and standards for transporting, between our facilities, our most critically ill and injured patients. This ensures continuity of care throughout the patient’s transport. The proposed amendment to Ambitrans’ COPCN will allow LMHS the flexibility it needs to improve LMHS’s quality of service and level of patient care, and permit Lee County EMS greater discretion to concentrate on its core mission of emergency 911 pre-hospital services. Accordingly, LMHS asks that the Board of County Commissioners renew and approve an amendment to Ambitrans’ COPCN to allow Ambitrans to perform ALS and BLS ambulance transports within Lee County. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Richard B. Akin Board Chairman LEE MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM BOARD OF DIRECTORS DISTRICT ONE Stephen R. Brown, M.D. Marilyn Stout DISTRICT TWO Richard B. Akin Nancy M. McGovern, RN, MSM DISTRICT THREE Sanford N. Cohen, M.D. David Collins DISTRICT FOUR Diane Champion Chris Hansen DISTRICT FIVE Jessica Carter Stephanie Meyer, BSN, RN BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICE, 13685 Doctors Way, Suite 190, Ft. Myers, FL 33912 Phone (239) 343‐1500
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 14:45:01 +0000
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