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We purchased two additional ambulances, hired experienced, licensed paramedics,
some of whom had worked for Marquette General EMS for nearly three decades, and
exceeded not only the Marquette County EMS Medical Control Authority's
requirements and protocols, but the State of Michigan's as well. Our equipment, staff,
medications, training, etc. are exactly the same as Marquette General EMS, Bell EMS,
or any other Advanced Life Support EMS service in Michigan. Same. No different. In
fact, we purchase most of our supplies, all of our medications/drugs, etc. from Bulk
Store at Marquette General! MediRide, Inc. EMS is required to abide by and treat its
patients with the exactly same care and protocols as MGH. Exactly. The only
difference between the services our two agencies provide is the name on the side of
the truck, and as far as I'm concerned, our attitudes.
Marquette General Hospital Administration has opposed our company from its very
inception. I was trained as an EMT at the Marquette General School of Emergency
Medical Technology. A week before I was to graduate from my EMT class, the MGH
instructor (who incidentally now works for me), called me to his office to tell me that I
could not graduate from the class because I had "cheated" on my anatomy coloring
book. I said, "Mark. I completed my coloring book, turned it in, and was graded 100%
on it. Everything was colored. How does one cheat on a coloring book? It's either
colored or it isn't." His response was, "well, you colored it during a practical session
and it was supposed to be homework. That's considered cutting corners. The
concern is that if you'll cut corners on something so small, what will you do with
patient care." I was flabbergasted. "What?" I said. I colored it during class on a
10-hour practical testing day. Out of the 10 hours, I had to test for about 30 minutes.
The rest of the time, I could do whatever I wanted, just like the other students. I work a
full-time job, and used my time wisely. Instead of gabbing with the other students,
listening to music, or going outside for break, I colored my book. I don't call that
cutting corners, I call that good time management."
After a few weeks of "investigation" and a call/letter from my attorney, the charges
were dropped and I was permitted to graduate. It's a long story, but I want you to
know how petty they've been toward me, my partner, my company and my staff from
the very beginning, and it's gotten much worse.
Years later, I asked my instructor what that was all about. He told me that the
decision to "get rid of me came from above." Of course, he admitted to me that the
MGH administration wanted to remove the "threat." Interesting. That was just one of
many problems we've had with the Marquette General School of EMT. I'll get into that
later.
Back to 2005. MediRide, Inc. EMS goes through the arduous upgrade licensing and
approval process. It wasn't easy. We were the first new EMS provider in Marquette
County in decades. No one was really sure what to do with us, and our competitor,
Marquette General did not want us to cut into their business.
Because of this, I had to make myself become the EMS expert. I had to know
Michigan's EMS laws and regulations inside and out. I was getting problems from
different groups. One of which was the Marquette County EMS Medical Control
Authority (MCMCA). This is the EMS governing body, required by the state, to oversee
Emergency Medical Services in our county. It is operated by a cooperative between
Marquette General Hospital and Bell Memorial Hospital. MediRide, Inc. EMS could
not operate its service without the approval of the MCMCA, and some on that Board
wanted to give us problems. Our application for upgrade was, in my opinion, held up
for some time, but could not be denied. MediRide, Inc. EMS met or exceeded all of
the state's and county's requirements to provide service. Here is our original letter of
intent to upgrade to Advanced Life Support from December of 2004.
We were licensed, trained and ready to launch our new Advanced Life Support
emergency response service. We would be serving the citizens of the city of
Marquette, and the townships of Marquette, Chocolay, Sands, Forsyth, Skandia/West
Branch, Wells and Powell townships. This is where the Marquette County Central
Dispatch Board, the group assigned to oversee the dispatch of all police, fire, EMS,
etc. in Marquette County. This group operates the Marquette County Central Dispatch
Center (9-1-1) for Marquette County. The Director of Marquette County Central
Dispatch (MCCD) is a former Michigan State policeman, named Joe VanOosterhout.
Members of the Central Dispatch Policy Board employed by Marquette General Health
System are Dan Wolf, Director MGH EMS, and Alyson Sundberg, MGH Risk Manager.
These hospital employees are a part of a group that governs MCCD.
As the first new EMS service in 30 years to begin operating in Marquette County, I can
understand how the MCCD Policy Board, and others were somewhat perplexed as to
how to properly dispatch our agency, and integrate our services with the existing
agencies in the county. Because of this, I was sure to provide them with all the
information, including the laws governing dispatch in the state of Michigan, and the
Marquette County EMS dispatching protocol language. Here is my letter to MCCD
dated April 18, 2005. Page 1 | Page 2 Please take note of the areas that I've
highlighted as they will become important and a topic of heated debate later on down
the road.
In Michigan agencies like Marquette County Central Dispatch, called Public Service
Answering Points, or PSAP's, are required to send a caller to 911, experiencing and
emergency, the closest, most appropriate resource for their emergency. That seems
logical, right? If I'm having an emergency, I want the response to come from the guy
that's closest to me and can reach me the fastest. When it comes to a medical
emergency, time is of the essence, and every second counts. I get it.
With that knowledge in mind, I was summoned by Mr. VanOosterhout, and the MCCD
Supervisor Gary Johnson to meet with Dan Wolf, and his superior, the late Venetia
Bryers at Marquette General to discuss how our two agencies would be dispatched
within the county. I was of the opinion that the two agencies should be dispatched
according to the laws in Michigan, and the MCMCA protocols. Of course, Ms. Bryers
and Mr. Wolf weren't too keen on that scenario, as the location of MediRide, inc. EMS
units were closer to 2/3 of the population base and that would significantly decrease
the revenue for MGH EMS. We haggled a bit, discussing possible geographic
designations, but neither party could come to a fair and equitable resolution, so that
thought was tabled. Finally, it was suggested that the two services, MediRide, Inc.
EMS and Marquette General EMS agree to rotate calls for emergency assistance
within our shared coverage area. For example, if there were 10 calls for ambulance
service in a day, five would go to MGH, and five would go to MediRide, Inc. EMS. I
acknowledged that this was against the rules, but in an effort to be fair and equitable,
I agreed to go along with it. It was called the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),
and here is a copy of it.
The subject of "requesting" a specific ambulance was also discussed in this first
meeting, and Ms. Bryers from Marquette General stated that she believed that to allow
requests for specific ambulances would "denigrate" the 911 system, and should not
be permitted. For once, I agreed with her.
The dispatching issue was taken care of, and on June 19, 2005, MediRide, Inc. EMS
began providing Advanced Life Support emergency response to the community.
Everything was moving along smoothly, until December 13, 2005, when I received a
letter from Dan Wolf at MGH EMS stating that Marquette General Health System was
serving notice that they were terminating their participation with the dispatch MOU as
of February 15, 2006. It took them 6 months to try and figure out a way to keep
MediRide, Inc. EMS from providing service to half the calls for help.
Find this letter to Mr. VanOosterhout from Al Hendra, MGHS Assistant Administrator.
Take note, that at this time, MGH insists that they were making this move to "comply
with the Marquette County Medical Control plan, and adhere to the spirit of the
Emergency Telephone Service Enabling Act (9-1-1 Act), and not for any other purpose.
It's important to remember that they WANT to comply with the Act...their tune will
change. See my response letter to VanOosterhout, dated Feburary 01, 2006.
You might wonder what was their plan. (See this letter Page 1 | Page 2 from Cheryl
Hill, Marquette County legal counsel to MCCD dated February 16, 2006 in which the
MGH plan was outlined). Well, MGH planned to station their three ambulances
around the Marquette area, knowing full well that MediRide, Inc. EMS only operated
two ambulances, and thereby making the MGH ambulances "closer" to all the calls
for help. You guessed it, they wanted to return to dispatching the way the law
required. They figured that now, because it would benefit them, the dispatching laws
were the way to go. Perfect, right? Wrong.
some of whom had worked for Marquette General EMS for nearly three decades, and
exceeded not only the Marquette County EMS Medical Control Authority's
requirements and protocols, but the State of Michigan's as well. Our equipment, staff,
medications, training, etc. are exactly the same as Marquette General EMS, Bell EMS,
or any other Advanced Life Support EMS service in Michigan. Same. No different. In
fact, we purchase most of our supplies, all of our medications/drugs, etc. from Bulk
Store at Marquette General! MediRide, Inc. EMS is required to abide by and treat its
patients with the exactly same care and protocols as MGH. Exactly. The only
difference between the services our two agencies provide is the name on the side of
the truck, and as far as I'm concerned, our attitudes.
Marquette General Hospital Administration has opposed our company from its very
inception. I was trained as an EMT at the Marquette General School of Emergency
Medical Technology. A week before I was to graduate from my EMT class, the MGH
instructor (who incidentally now works for me), called me to his office to tell me that I
could not graduate from the class because I had "cheated" on my anatomy coloring
book. I said, "Mark. I completed my coloring book, turned it in, and was graded 100%
on it. Everything was colored. How does one cheat on a coloring book? It's either
colored or it isn't." His response was, "well, you colored it during a practical session
and it was supposed to be homework. That's considered cutting corners. The
concern is that if you'll cut corners on something so small, what will you do with
patient care." I was flabbergasted. "What?" I said. I colored it during class on a
10-hour practical testing day. Out of the 10 hours, I had to test for about 30 minutes.
The rest of the time, I could do whatever I wanted, just like the other students. I work a
full-time job, and used my time wisely. Instead of gabbing with the other students,
listening to music, or going outside for break, I colored my book. I don't call that
cutting corners, I call that good time management."
After a few weeks of "investigation" and a call/letter from my attorney, the charges
were dropped and I was permitted to graduate. It's a long story, but I want you to
know how petty they've been toward me, my partner, my company and my staff from
the very beginning, and it's gotten much worse.
Years later, I asked my instructor what that was all about. He told me that the
decision to "get rid of me came from above." Of course, he admitted to me that the
MGH administration wanted to remove the "threat." Interesting. That was just one of
many problems we've had with the Marquette General School of EMT. I'll get into that
later.
Back to 2005. MediRide, Inc. EMS goes through the arduous upgrade licensing and
approval process. It wasn't easy. We were the first new EMS provider in Marquette
County in decades. No one was really sure what to do with us, and our competitor,
Marquette General did not want us to cut into their business.
Because of this, I had to make myself become the EMS expert. I had to know
Michigan's EMS laws and regulations inside and out. I was getting problems from
different groups. One of which was the Marquette County EMS Medical Control
Authority (MCMCA). This is the EMS governing body, required by the state, to oversee
Emergency Medical Services in our county. It is operated by a cooperative between
Marquette General Hospital and Bell Memorial Hospital. MediRide, Inc. EMS could
not operate its service without the approval of the MCMCA, and some on that Board
wanted to give us problems. Our application for upgrade was, in my opinion, held up
for some time, but could not be denied. MediRide, Inc. EMS met or exceeded all of
the state's and county's requirements to provide service. Here is our original letter of
intent to upgrade to Advanced Life Support from December of 2004.
We were licensed, trained and ready to launch our new Advanced Life Support
emergency response service. We would be serving the citizens of the city of
Marquette, and the townships of Marquette, Chocolay, Sands, Forsyth, Skandia/West
Branch, Wells and Powell townships. This is where the Marquette County Central
Dispatch Board, the group assigned to oversee the dispatch of all police, fire, EMS,
etc. in Marquette County. This group operates the Marquette County Central Dispatch
Center (9-1-1) for Marquette County. The Director of Marquette County Central
Dispatch (MCCD) is a former Michigan State policeman, named Joe VanOosterhout.
Members of the Central Dispatch Policy Board employed by Marquette General Health
System are Dan Wolf, Director MGH EMS, and Alyson Sundberg, MGH Risk Manager.
These hospital employees are a part of a group that governs MCCD.
As the first new EMS service in 30 years to begin operating in Marquette County, I can
understand how the MCCD Policy Board, and others were somewhat perplexed as to
how to properly dispatch our agency, and integrate our services with the existing
agencies in the county. Because of this, I was sure to provide them with all the
information, including the laws governing dispatch in the state of Michigan, and the
Marquette County EMS dispatching protocol language. Here is my letter to MCCD
dated April 18, 2005. Page 1 | Page 2 Please take note of the areas that I've
highlighted as they will become important and a topic of heated debate later on down
the road.
In Michigan agencies like Marquette County Central Dispatch, called Public Service
Answering Points, or PSAP's, are required to send a caller to 911, experiencing and
emergency, the closest, most appropriate resource for their emergency. That seems
logical, right? If I'm having an emergency, I want the response to come from the guy
that's closest to me and can reach me the fastest. When it comes to a medical
emergency, time is of the essence, and every second counts. I get it.
With that knowledge in mind, I was summoned by Mr. VanOosterhout, and the MCCD
Supervisor Gary Johnson to meet with Dan Wolf, and his superior, the late Venetia
Bryers at Marquette General to discuss how our two agencies would be dispatched
within the county. I was of the opinion that the two agencies should be dispatched
according to the laws in Michigan, and the MCMCA protocols. Of course, Ms. Bryers
and Mr. Wolf weren't too keen on that scenario, as the location of MediRide, inc. EMS
units were closer to 2/3 of the population base and that would significantly decrease
the revenue for MGH EMS. We haggled a bit, discussing possible geographic
designations, but neither party could come to a fair and equitable resolution, so that
thought was tabled. Finally, it was suggested that the two services, MediRide, Inc.
EMS and Marquette General EMS agree to rotate calls for emergency assistance
within our shared coverage area. For example, if there were 10 calls for ambulance
service in a day, five would go to MGH, and five would go to MediRide, Inc. EMS. I
acknowledged that this was against the rules, but in an effort to be fair and equitable,
I agreed to go along with it. It was called the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),
and here is a copy of it.
The subject of "requesting" a specific ambulance was also discussed in this first
meeting, and Ms. Bryers from Marquette General stated that she believed that to allow
requests for specific ambulances would "denigrate" the 911 system, and should not
be permitted. For once, I agreed with her.
The dispatching issue was taken care of, and on June 19, 2005, MediRide, Inc. EMS
began providing Advanced Life Support emergency response to the community.
Everything was moving along smoothly, until December 13, 2005, when I received a
letter from Dan Wolf at MGH EMS stating that Marquette General Health System was
serving notice that they were terminating their participation with the dispatch MOU as
of February 15, 2006. It took them 6 months to try and figure out a way to keep
MediRide, Inc. EMS from providing service to half the calls for help.
Find this letter to Mr. VanOosterhout from Al Hendra, MGHS Assistant Administrator.
Take note, that at this time, MGH insists that they were making this move to "comply
with the Marquette County Medical Control plan, and adhere to the spirit of the
Emergency Telephone Service Enabling Act (9-1-1 Act), and not for any other purpose.
It's important to remember that they WANT to comply with the Act...their tune will
change. See my response letter to VanOosterhout, dated Feburary 01, 2006.
You might wonder what was their plan. (See this letter Page 1 | Page 2 from Cheryl
Hill, Marquette County legal counsel to MCCD dated February 16, 2006 in which the
MGH plan was outlined). Well, MGH planned to station their three ambulances
around the Marquette area, knowing full well that MediRide, Inc. EMS only operated
two ambulances, and thereby making the MGH ambulances "closer" to all the calls
for help. You guessed it, they wanted to return to dispatching the way the law
required. They figured that now, because it would benefit them, the dispatching laws
were the way to go. Perfect, right? Wrong.