Commissioners end EMS nurse contract with hospital

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

With no public discussion, the Columbus County Board of Commissioners voted 5 to 1 Monday night to end a contract with Columbus Regional Healthcare for EMS nurse liaison services to the county.

Commissioner Lynwood Norris abstained from voting because he serves on the hospital board. Commissioner Ronald Gore voted “no.”

“I had done a lot of research and just didn’t feel comfortable with terminating the contract,” Gore said Wednesday. “I needed more information than I had.”

He didn’t criticize the vote but said he felt he needed more information “on what was actually going on.”

Chairman Sammie Jacobs had requested discussion on Dr. Fred Obrecht’s contract with the county but when he called for a motion, discussion of Obrecht’s contract was tabled.

Commissioner Bill Memory asked that Obrecht’s matter be tabled but requested that the hospital be notified in writing of termination of the EMS nurse liaison contract. Commissioner James Prevatte seconded the motion.

The vote comes on the heels of a request made by eight of nine rescue chiefs with private and volunteer rescue services throughout the county asking that Obrecht be removed from his position and EMS nurse liaison Becky Smith be relieved of her county duties associated with the hospital contract.

“We just feel like maybe this is a start,” vice president of the Columbus County Fire and Rescue Association and Chief of Tabor City Emergency Services Sara Spivey said. “Maybe they will go ahead and give his (Obrecht’s) too.”

“Of course this was a surprise,” Columbus Regional CEO Bill Clark said Wednesday of the terminated contract. An official letter dated Sept. 18 was received in his office on Wednesday Sept. 19 giving the 60-day notice as required by the contract.

Effective Nov. 30 the duties will revert to the county and the county will no longer pay $25,000 of Smith’s salary.

It is not the first time the county has terminated the contract. According to Clark the contract was terminated in the past and some time later the county asked to renew a similar agreement with the hospital.

Smith is a hospital employee and the effect the terminated contract will have lies with the hospital.

She may continue to have EMS duties that are hospital related such as student clinical rotations, non-traditional practice, monitoring continuing education and ambulance call reports.

“I feel pretty sure we will keep Becky (Smith) in her current capacity,” Clark said. “A lot of her duties will be reassigned by the county.”

He said Smith would likely continue normal hospital nurse liaison duties and other needs of the facility including disaster training and planning. “Becky (Smith) is very knowledgeable about that.

“She was really helping the medical director,” Clark added. “There is a lot of record keeping and bookkeeping.”

N.C. Office of Emergency Medical Services Eastern Region Manager Keith Harris said the nurse liaison position is not a required position.

According to Harris, rules changed several years ago giving county commissioners more say in how their systems were operated.

He said some counties still have nurse liaisons and that traditionally they serve as assistants to the medical director and as a peacemaker between the hospital and EMS.

While the county attorney and county manager were unable to give particulars on the situation Tuesday, by Wednesday, it appeared arrangements had been made for the Columbus County Health Department to assume some of the responsibilities of the EMS system soon to revert to the county.

Health Department Director Kim Smith said all North Carolina health departments are required to have a nurse on staff to handle communicable diseases.

“I’ve been working with Kay (Worley, Interim Emergency Services Director) and Becky Smith to incorporate that into what we do,” Kim Smith said.

“It is my understanding that some of the money(appropriated to the nurse liaison position) will now come to the health department – I haven’t been told what amount.

“We would have to have money to purchase TB skin test kits and to purchase TB vaccine to have on hand.”

Smith said in the event of a needle stick those individuals would still go to CRH so a rapid test could be done.

Administrative duties and record keeping will be the responsibility of the county emergency services and 911 center headed up by interim director Kay Worley.

County Manager Jim Varner was contacted Tuesday but said he did not know what the county planned to do about taking on the new responsibilities. “I’m not privy to it,” Varner said.

“Are you serious?” the reporter asked.

“As serious as a heart attack,” Varner said referring the reporter to the county attorney Steve Fowler.

“I do not know the specifics of who may fill this role if anyone at all,” Fowler said. “I’m not aware of that particular situation.” Fowler said he did not know if the position was required or not but would be researching it shortly.