Ambulance Service releases June report

     Monticello Ambulance Administrator Britt Smith released the service activity for the Monticello Ambulance Service for the month of June.

     Total EMS calls for service: 51 (16 to City of Monticello addresses, 12 to Monticello Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 12 to Jones County addresses within the Monticello service area, eight to Jones Regional Medical Center for transfers, and three to Anamosa city addresses)

     “During the month of June, I was able to release some of the COVID-19 restrictions and we began our new member training,” Smith said.

     The class size was cut down to six participants, and included three weekly classes of three hours each class. The training consisted of vehicle operations, response procedures, and medical training.

     “Five of the six successfully completed the training and have begun the second phase of their training, and are doing their field training portion in July,” Smith added.

     He also provided an explanation on how overtime is accrued by ambulance staff.

     Overtime is accrued when staff works a holiday, at a rate of double time and a half.

     Another incident would be when staff attends monthly trainings or meetings.

     “When our paramedics attend these meetings, we don’t always have the ability to flex out their time with part-time staff to cover the overtime, which results in roughly two hours of overtime for paramedic staff,” explained Smith.

     He said he is working on adding a paramedic to the staff roster for coverage time.

     The third reason for overtime is when a medic covers a call near the end of their shift that results in the transport of a patient to Cedar Rapids.

     “If the call comes in at 5 p.m., near the end of the shift, and involves a transport to an out-of-county hospital, it could result in a two-hour trip that accrues overtime,” Smith said.