Glen Ellyn finalizes ambulance plan

A plan to provide ambulance services in Glen Ellyn has been finalized after the board agreed to fee increases Monday.

For the past several months, the village has been working on obtaining its own paramedic services instead of billing out to a second party.

The board approved a paramedic provider and the purchase of two ambulances earlier this year.

The last step of the process involved billing for ambulance services, which will be done by Paramedic Billing Services Inc. The company also will set rates for emergency calls.

Deputy Village Manager Curt Barrett said the new ambulance service will provide faster response times in town and give Glen Ellyn the resources to keep up with mutual aid agreements it has with surrounding towns. The village has an average of about 1,800 ambulance calls a year.

He said the cost for the first year is about $920,000. About $720,000 of that will be recouped through billing, leaving $200,000 to be subsidized by the village.

"This is very typical," he said, of the way most villages handle ambulance contracts.

The rates that residents would pay also increased in the final wording of the five-year contract.

For basic life support, village residents would pay $725; others would pay $910. Fees for advanced life support services would be $904 for residents and $1,181 for others. The for a second level of advanced life support would be $962 for residents and $1,097 for others.

Barrett said the pricing is the most competitive that could be found for the village.

Glen Ellyn has so far agreed to $834,000 for paramedic services and $231,488 to purchase the ambulances. The village also has paid out $72,835 to outfit the vehicles with cots and defibrillators.