April 10, 2008
Ambulance Services Administrator Hired

By Dave Maxwell, Staff Writer

Mrs. Louise Buettner (pronounced bit-ner) of Mt. Wilson was hired by the Lincoln County Commissioners as the new Ambulance Services Administrator responsible for the operation of Lincoln County Ambulance Association and Meadow Valley Ambulance. She will serve on a part-time basis and was selected from three applicants who submitted letters of qualification to County Manager John Lovelady.

At the April 7 Commission meeting Lovelady said that based on the applications, Mrs. Buettner was the most qualified and the Commissioners acted on his recommendation.

Currently Mrs. Buettner works as both an RN and the Risk Management Coordinator at Grover C. Dils Medical Center in Caliente. Her duties as Ambulance Services Administrator will be in addition to her full-time job at the hospital. In a telephone interview, she stated that some of her qualifications for the position are the 40-years experience she has in Emergency Room nursing, years of working closely with EMTs, plus having taught EMT classes both in Henderson and Lincoln County.

Under the overall direction of Dr. William Katschke, Mrs. Buettner will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the ambulance service, including personnel schedules, training, billing, purchasing and inventory control, maintenance of vehicles and equipment, and all other management responsibilities typical to the administration of ambulance services.

County Commissioners recently approved a policy for the organization and operation of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) within the County, (excluding Pahranagat Valley) in order to ensure that the emergency medical and ambulance operate efficiently in the delivery of services to the citizens of the County.

The organizational structure is under the overall coordination of the County Commissioners, followed by the Medical Director - Dr. Katschke, Ambulance Services Administrator – Mrs. Buettner, an Emergency Medical Services Training Coordinator, and the Emergency Medical Services personnel.

The Ambulance Services Training Coordinator will, at the direction of the Ambulance Services Director, be charged with arranging and making provision for training needed to maintain a high-quality ambulance service in the county.

The Medical Director is responsible for all aspects of compliance with medical protocols established and adopted by the County and compliance with State regulations regarding the training and delivery of EMS within the County.

The fee schedule for ambulance services will be aligned with the Medical Base Rate as adopted each year, with an additional 50 percent added for ambulance services billed to insurances.

Citizens who volunteer as EMS personnel agree to serve for the term of the certification received with their training and also agree to reimburse the County for the cost of their training if they do not honor the commitment in the Ambulance Service for the agreed term.

Commissioner Chairperson Ronda Hornbeck said she has confidence this will work, “Because it is so vitally important to the County…and by going down this direction with an administrator…I think will work because we have some awesome volunteers and I think this will add to the process and make it a more smooth organization.”