The decision to close Jeannette EMS was one that did not come lightly (“Jeannette EMS shuts down after 63 years,” July 3, TribLIVE).

I have devoted over 44 years of my life to this service and community in various capacities within the service. The EMS industry as a whole is a very volatile industry.

Imagine this: You go to the grocery store or restaurant or home improvement store, and when it is time to leave, your bill is $100. You say to the owner, “I’m only going to give you $50 and you have to like it.” That is not going to go over very well.

That is exactly what the EMS industry goes through. When we bill an insurance company for an ambulance trip, they have a formula that dictates what theybelieve is a good price to pay for that service, and then they are only paying 80% of that total, which could mean $125 or so on an $1,100 bill.

This is not specific to Jeannette EMS; it is an industrywide crisis. A colleague of mine shared this quote from another EMS provider: “EMS: We are EXPECTED but never RESPECTED.”

I was disappointed to say the least to read the article “‘You will have an ambulance’: Jeannette leaders scramble in wake of EMS closing” (July 6, TribLIVE) in which Jeannette councilwoman Michelle Langdon stated that we should have reached out and at least had a conversation with them. Well, I have reached out and have met with them on multiple occasions regarding this; in fact, Langdon was the city manager when several of the conversations that she would have liked to see actually did happen. How soon people forget!

As for Jeannette Solicitor Tim Witt’s statement regarding a formal request, how much more formal than various letters to the city (which were written ) and multiple face-to-face meetings with the mayor and council were required?

I called the mayor on Monday and did not receive a return call. I received a text message the next day thanking us for our service to the city and comparing it to the takeover of big business. Seriously? That could not be further from the truth.

To put it into perspective: The $12,000 a year that the city provided to us was one quarterly insurance payment.

I feel as though government at all levels gives EMS lip service when it comes to our needs and the crisis that we are living daily. I have been involved in many discussions over the years with elected officials and yet here we are still fighting the uphill battle. I think people thought that we were just looking for a handout when in fact we were trying to survive.

As for the last-minute announcement, I understand how stressful that has been to neighboring services and the community; had the announcement been made any sooner, the service would have closed due to lack of employees, who by the way have not been paid for the past two weeks of work.

I grew up here and have lived here for the biggest part of my life. Do not think for one minute that I made this decision in a few minutes. I was trying many last-ditch efforts to salvage the service. Those people who attempted to help me, I thank from the bottom of my heart. My hope in all of this is that our demise will help save some other service from going down the same path.

Randy Highlands is executive director of operations for Jeannette EMS.

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