TOMAHAWK – A Lincoln County committee is considering equipping Tomahawk ambulances with new technology.
During its meeting at the Lincoln County Service Center in Merrill on Wednesday, May 13, the Lincoln County Public Safety Committee discussed a resolution that, if approved, would green-light the installation forward-facing cameras and global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices in ambulances operated by Aspirus Tomahawk Emergency Medical Services.
Lincoln County contracts with Aspirus Inc. to operate and oversee emergency medical services, utilizing county-owned ambulances.
In April, Bob Kirkley of Aspirus Tomahawk Emergency Medical Services provided the committee with a presentation on the potential implementation of the technology.
According to the presentation, Aspirus MedEvac has 52 ambulances in its fleet, including its Lincoln County ambulances. All Aspirus-owned vehicles, Taylor County ambulances and some Oneida County ambulances utilize GPS units and forward-facing cameras, the presentation said.
The committee ulitmately recommended that Kirkley draft a resolution to present during the committee’s May meeting.
The resolution
The resolution, drafted by Kirkley, was introduced during the committee’s meeting last month.
According to the resolution, forward-facing vehicle cameras and GPS systems are “widely used in public safety fleets to enhance driver safety, incident review, training, fleet oversight and operational efficiency.”
The resolution said the installation of the cameras would “assist in documenting roadway conditions, collisions, near-miss events and other safety-related incidents, thereby supporting objective review and continuous improvement efforts,” while the GPS systems would “ support real‑time fleet monitoring, deployment coordination, response-time analysis, route optimization, asset accountability and accurate reporting for quality assurance and compliance purposes.”
Under the resolution, the use of forward-facing cameras would not include interior patient-care areas and would be governed by written policies addressing privacy, data access, retention and appropriate use, consistent with county and Aspirus policy and applicable law.
There would be no cost to install the units because Aspirus MedEvac has already purchased them. MedEvac would also pay associated minimal monthly fees.
Discussion
Kirkley told the committee that if the resolution were approved, he would install the cameras and GPS systems himself.
The installation processes are internal, meaning no holes would have to be drilled into the roofs of the ambulances, and the units are wired to the ambulances’ ignitions, ensuring that they shut off 10 minutes after the ambulances are powered down to prevent battery drain, according to meeting minutes.
Data from the GPS systems would be owned by Aspirus and would not integrate into the county’s Zerker dispatch system, according to Merrill Fire Chief Josh Klug. However, in the event an ambulance were stolen, the county could request the GPS data from Aspirus, Klug noted.
Kirkley said dispatch centers would have access to the GPS data through a web-based system.
The committee also discussed data storage and records access. Under the resolution, Aspirus would maintain the data and respond to open records requests.
Lincoln County Administrative Coordinator Renee Krueger told the committee that Lincoln County Corporation Counsel Karry Johnson had not yet reviewed the related documents as of the meeting. Krueger said Johnson had questions regarding open records policies and liability and indicated that Aspirus would need to work with with Johnson to determine if Aspirus and county policies align.
After further discussion, the committee voted to amend the resolution to direct Aspirus Emergency Medical Services leadership to develop written protocols for data storage, access, retention and replies. The committee then voted to carry the resolution over to its June meeting to allow Johnson to review it.
The commitee's next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 10 at 4 p.m.
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