Surry County and its municipal governments are hungry to find ways to trim excess fat from their budgets. An opportunity has arrived to replace aging first responders’ equipment, regulate annual budgetary costs, and save the taxpayers monies by having counties join the Stryker ALS 360 leasing program.
Eric Southern of Surry County Emergency Management said the county is already enjoying considerable savings and he has plans to add to the savings going forward. He said prices on medical equipment, as with almost all other goods, have been on the rise recently. The inflation equates to roughly a 4% price increases from two years ago.
“If we purchased the needed equipment for all of our EMS vehicles it would cost $1,379,947.10 and we would have to purchase a maintenance contract to cover each item which could increase the cost over $175,000 especially if repairs are needed,” he explained.
“One perk with the contract is that older models will be rotated out when they release newer models, so maintenance is not a factor. However, if it is needed, it is also included in the contract price.”
Surry County only utilizes the equipment leasing program through Stryker for Lifepak Defibrillator / ECG monitor, Lucas compression devices, and McGrath video laryngoscopes. Southern estimates that as an estimated savings of $263,000 a year for Surry County. In the future he wants to look at adding additional items onto that list as costs to maintain equipment rise as the age does.
He listed out estimated costs for the Lifepak15 monitor/defibrillator currently priced at $43,248.28, McGrath scopes are $3,061.77, and MTS Power Load stretchers are $25,975.80 according to the latest numbers available. Today’s prices may not be tomorrow’s prices as any recent purchase of a gallon or milk, or gas has shown.
Keith Vestal made a presentation to the Yadkin County Board of County Commissioners Monday evening to present the benefits of joining the leasing program. He would like to join with Southern in taking advantage of the Stryker ALS 360 program saying it is a good option that will provide his teams with the same equipment that they already use.
“This program just gives us new equipment every five years with complete warranties maintenance to cover each piece for the life of the lease. If a newer or more advanced model is released our equipment is automatically up graded to the latest model,” the Yadkin County Emergency Management director said.
“Medical devices such as cardiac monitors, patient cots, and others are very expensive items and have strict FDA care and maintenance requirements. Having the latest technology in life saving equipment is a key component in protecting our citizens, and we want to do everything we can to help them in a time of need,” he said.
In presenting the leasing program to the Yadkin commissioners, Vestal was able to dangle in front of the board a savings in the amount of over one million dollars. Reducing the costs of emergency services means budgeted dollars can be stretched and used in other ways than replacing equipment like power lift systems and defibrillators.
“This program is a very good choice for Yadkin County because instead of purchasing each piece, the lease will give us new equipment and will save $1,078,600 over the 10 years of the lease. I think this could be a good fit for other EMS agencies in need of replacing several items of this type.”
The director of Stokes County Emergency Management concurred saying that he felt the equipment leasing program was a good idea. “I have looked into this leasing program and did ask for it in my budget for this fiscal year.”
“Due to some of our equipment has not reached the end of service life we have decided to hold off for another year. We will be looking at presenting this to board of county commissioners in the 2023/24 budget,” Brandon Gentry said. “It will save money and will keep up to date and new equipment on the EMS units.”
Replacing equipment means budgets can fluctuate greatly as different pieces reach the end of their useful life at different time. The leasing program will allow costs to be fixed over the ten-year period of the contract which will take the unknown of repair or replacement costs off the table for participating counties.
Ad hoc equipment replacement may also mean that not all ambulances have the same equipment meaning those first responders need familiarity with other versions of the same equipment. Uniformity in equipment, and therefore training on said equipment, may make a difference when seconds count.
When the Surry County Sheriff’s Office was explaining their need for pursuit-ready squad cars this spring, they mentioned that larger police forces with squad car orders of greater size may get priority. Stryker said leasing participants are prioritized for receipt of equipment, which is particularly important in a time of supplier uncertainty.
Gentry, Southern, and Vestal agree that the Stryker equipment leasing program is a benefit for the citizen they protect. Yadkin County soon will reap the savings as Surry County has and Stokes County hopes to follow suit.
Vestal did due diligence before presenting the lease to the county board, “I have done a lot of research on the Stryker ALS 360 Program and at this point do not see anything negative with it. Other Counties in North Carolina have gone with this program, and everything is going well.”
“Medicine is changing by the minute and equipment is changing by the minute. What we do to help preserve life in Yadkin County depends on us having the best equipment we can have,” he said.
With the potential savings of replacing equipment already at the end of its service, and again during the mid-point of the contract, for county emergency management leaders it seems a no-brainer to agree to the lease agreement and the Yadkin Commissioners agreed unanimously.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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