AKRON — American Medical Response has notified state regulators that it intends to shutter its facility in Akron, shedding 50 jobs in the process. The private ambulance company’s decision will have a cascading effect on Akron’s public safety resources, including the Akron Fire Department’s call volume potentially surging more than 140%.
Although AMR’s decision to close was at least somewhat expected, it will undoubtedly stretch city resources even further than they are amid ongoing challenges with public safety recruitment and retention.
Late last year, AMR and the City of Akron failed to reach an agreement on a new contract in which AMR had asked the city to subsidize its medical transport services heavily.
Historically, AMR has been able to rely on reimbursement payments from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers to offset its costs and turn a profit.
However, in the wake of staffing challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, industry experts said the substantial wage increases that followed and the existing business model were no longer sustainable. To offset its increased costs, AMR requested the City of Akron provide an $11 million subsidy over five years, which the city rejected.
“Their finances are supplied strictly through the transports they make. Medicare and Medicaid are not big payers when it comes to reimbursement for EMS transports,” said Eric Burns, the president of the Ohio EMS Chiefs Association, who described the state’s EMS industry as ‘dire.’ “I completely understand why private EMS services are struggling to maintain their staffing levels and to keep those people paid because, let’s face it, the reimbursements are not there. That’s how they make their money. Looking at Medicaid, sometimes we’ll get $110 to $140 per call. You can’t sustain that when you’re paying your staff $36 an hour, your trucks cost $300,000, and the equipment inside costs $100,000, plus insurance, benefits and things like that.”
AMR and other so-called third service providers often fill an important void in emergency medical services. Akron is no exception. AMR handles non-life-threatening calls and hospital transports. This leaves the Akron Fire Department with enough resources to address serious and critical emergency calls. With AMR winding down operations by Aug. 1, the Akron Fire Department will be forced to take on an additional 13,000 calls on top of the 9,000 emergency calls the agency logs each year, which is an increase of 142%.
Burns said Akron’s current problem is emblematic of the serious issues that EMS providers and agencies are dealing with statewide. Ongoing challenges in recruitment have exacerbated the issues.
“We’re definitely stretched thin in the state of Ohio at this point, even in the small communities and 911 services,” Burns said. “We have people… that actually work for multiple departments in order to make a livable wage. If somebody out there can give me the golden goose of how to get young people involved in EMS, I would give them a year’s salary because we just can’t find a way to get them in.”
Akron Fire Chief Joe Natko told the Akron Beacon Journal in late 2022 that the department is preparing to shell out even more overtime this year to accommodate the increased call volume. Although the agency has made concerted efforts to recruit new paramedics and EMTs, city officials have acknowledged that any recruits would only be ready after AMR closes.
“I wish Akron the best of luck. If their run volume is going to jump 142%, they’re going to find out what it’s really like to work,” Burns said. “I hope the city of Akron and AMR can come to some kind of agreement, but I can understand both sides.”
Late Thursday, the city and Natko released the following statement:
“The City of Akron and the Akron Fire Department are disappointed in the decision of American Medical Response (AMR) to permanently close its facility on 485 S. Broadway. This closure will result in 50 employees being laid off, including EMTs, paramedics, supervisors and a mechanic, and will place additional strain on Akron Fire’s EMS crews.
The relationship between the Akron Fire Department and AMR has always been amicable with a “no cost” contract in place that utilized AMR as a subcontractor for the City for non-emergency calls for transport. AMR was able to profit through this contract. Unfortunately, AMR came to the City several months ago and explained that they would not renew their contract with the City unless we were able to pay a significant subsidy to AMR. This payment of a subsidy was untenable for the City of Akron and its taxpayers. The decision was made to support Akron Fire with increased staffing and resources to compensate for the additional non-emergency patient transports that will be conducted by Akron Fire starting August 1, 2023.
The men and women of Akron Fire are incredibly resilient and have been preparing to handle this additional patient transport load. Mayor Horrigan and Akron City Council have been responsive and supportive of the needs of Akron Fire when this difficult situation was presented to them. Because of our employees, and due to the support of the City, Akron Fire will continue to adapt to the ever changing environment of Emergency Medical Services and provide excellent care to Akron’s patients.”
