Tag: Hawkins County

That’s why on Monday the County Commission will be asked to approve an out of order resolution appointing an exploratory committee of medical and public safety professionals to study both franchise applications, and make a recommendation to the full commission. Current franchise holder Hawkins County EMS's two year ambulance franchise expires on June 30. A year later Church Hill EMS folded, leaving HCEMS as the county’s only ambulance service provider. On the heels of CHEMS folding in August 2016, the county commission appointed an EMS Exploratory Committee to review the existing EMS situation and to make a recommendation to the full commission. Ultimately the commission rejected that recommendation, and instead chose to have a franchise application/interview process presided over by the Public Safety Committee (PCS), which resulted in HCEMS being chosen over Lifeguard to receive the county’s two-year EMS franchise in 2017. Last month Public Safety Committee chairman John Metz proposed appointing that same exploratory committee to make a recommendation regarding the county's ambulance franchise applicants. But, as of last month's meeting Metz hadn't spoken with previous exploratory committee chairman, retired Rogersville physician Dr. Blaine Jones or any of the other previous members. On Wednesday the PSC reconvened with Jones in attendance carrying a list of people who have agreed to participate in the exploratory committee. "Those members comprise probably 160 or more years of medical and emergency medicine," Jones told the PSC. It's unlikely that the County Commission will be in a position to make an EMS franchise decision before the HCEMS franchise expires June 30.