Pulaski Memorial to Sign Agreement with Private Ambulance Firm

Pulaski Memorial Hospital

For the Pulaski Memorial Hospital, some decisions could mean the difference between life and death. When CEO Rick Mynark approached the commissioners this week, he knew that his proposal could mean the very same for patients at the hospital. Mynark informed the commissioners that PMH would be signing an agreement with Keeney Ambulance and Transport Service (KATS), a private ambulance firm, to provide patient transfer service, cutting down drastically on the time required for patient transfers.

“KATS will have first priority, we’ll call them first. But if we have multiple transfers that need to be made or KATS doesn’t happen to be available right away, we will call Pulaski County EMS for the transfer,” said Mynark.

Currently, the time lapse between when a transfer vehicle is requested and the time it arrives is often over an hour, which not only increases risk for patients, but causes perception problems with service provided by the hospital. The hospital has no control over how soon the vehicles can arrive, but Mynark’s solution would greatly increase quality of service at the hospital at no cost.

“By signing an agreement with KATS, we’ll get service within twenty minutes,” said Mynark.

KATS is a private ambulance firm based in Rensselaer, with stations in Frankfort and Lafayette as well, and they plan to build a station in Pulaski County at the intersection of State Roads 14 and 39 to serve both PMH and IU Health Starke Hospital for patient transfers. Currently, Pulaski County only has two ambulances, so this service would greatly increase the speed of patient transfers.