TOMAHAWK – This week, a Lincoln County committee gave its stamp of approval to the implementation of new technology in Tomahawk ambulances.
During its meeting at the Lincoln County Service Center in Merrill on Monday, June 15, the Lincoln County Public Safety Committee approved a resolution green-lighting the installation of 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.
The committee has been considering the implementation of the equipment since April, when Bob Kirkley of Aspirus Tomahawk Emergency Medical Services provided a presentation on the topic.
Aspirus MedEvac has 52 ambulances in its fleet. According to the presentation, all Aspirus-owned ambulances, as well as Taylor County and some Oneida County vehicles, utilize GPS units and forward-facing cameras.
The committee ultimately recommended that Kirkley draft a resolution to present during the committee’s May meeting.
The resolution, drafted by Kirkley and introduced during the committee’s meeting last month, pointed to numerous benefits provided by the technology, including driver safety, incident review, operational efficiency, documenting roadway conditions and incidents, fleet monitoring, route optimization and accurate reporting for quality assurance and compliance purposes.
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, according to the resolution.
Because Aspirus MedEvac has already purchased the equipment, the installation of the units would carry no cost to the county, and associated minimal monthly fees would be paid by MedEvac.
Data from the GPS systems would be owned by Aspirus and would not integrate into the county’s Zerker dispatch system, but in the event an ambulance was stolen, the county could request the GPS data from Aspirus.
Dispatch centers would have access to the GPS data through a web-based system.
Under the resolution, Aspirus would maintain data and respond to open records requests.
After discussing the resolution last month, the committee voted to amend it 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 Lincoln County Corporation Counsel Karry Johnson to review it.
Last week’s meeting
During last week’s meeting, Johnson expressed concern regarding Aspirus’ ability to process records requests, explaining that it is not something private entities typically do.
Johnson told the committee that records and data requests are time-sensitive, and the county must “be able to trust that we’re going to get timely responses.”
Johnson ultimately recommended that if the committee and the county board were to approve the resolution, that the respective approvals be contingent on “having some sort of satisfactory contract in place which explains not just how we’re handling those requests and the timeliness concerns, but also full indemnity to the county, should something go wrong in how they respond or fail to respond in a timely fashion.”
After discussion, the committee voted to approve the resolution contingent on the approval of a contract between Lincoln County and Aspirus regarding open records management and legal indemnity.
The contract will be drafted by Aspirus and reviewed by Johnson and the committee, after which, the resolution and contract will be forwarded to the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors for final review.
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