LAKE WYLIE, S.C. — In January, Piedmont Medical Center will take over the River Hills/Lake Wylie EMS, the community service that has been operational since 1980.
The Lake Wylie ambulance service responded to about 1,500 calls last year, The Rock Hill Herald reports. Piedmont Medical Center has operated most of York County’s ambulance services for more than 40 years.
The River Hills/Lake Wylie EMS service was established in 1980 and has undergone several changes in operations and management over the years. Initially, the service relied solely on donations and operated without paid employees for the first 20 to 25 years, according to Dick Mann, board member and operations director.
“We managed for probably the first 20 to 25 years to exist solely on donations, because we did not have any paid employees,” Mann said. “But over the last 20 years, we’ve been forced to add one employee, two employees.”
Today, the service employs 25 individuals.
Piedmont’s acquisition of the Lake Wylie EMS group ensures that an ambulance will remain stationed in Lake Wylie.
The transition to Piedmont will bring improved pay and benefits to the service’s employees, The Rock Hill Herald reports. Previously, the Lake Wylie EMS group had to rely on fundraising drives, with a recent effort raising $250,000 to continue operations.
“We never can break even,” Mann said. “We’re always running just a little bit behind.”
The ambulance service will maintain its branding as River Hills/Lake Wylie EMS, while also incorporating logos from Piedmont Medical Center or Tenet Health.
“You hate to see this happen, but you know it has to happen,” Mann said. “We just can’t keep going the way it is.”
The transition is set to take place in January, with further details about the operational integration expected to be ironed out as the takeover process progresses.
Read more here.
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