On Wednesday, December 13, the workgroup tasked by the State EMS Advisory Board Chair Kevin Dillard with addressing funding restructuring needs and pending payment issues met for the first time. As previously reported, the need for this workgroup stems from unanticipated budgeting shortfalls at the Office of Emergency Medical Services. The official minutes are pending, but a brief recap of the meeting is detailed below:
- The workgroup approved the Virtual Meeting Policy unanimously.
- Chair Dillard reviewed the purpose of our workgroup. To recap, this is an advisory workgroup which was created at the request of the State Health Commissioner. The workgroup is to help flag and prioritize obligations for the EMS system. The workgroup’s priority is to ensure that the regional EMS councils receive payment. The workgroup’s second priority is the return-to-locality funding. The workgroup’s third priority is resolving pending vendor invoices. Future discussions of the workgroup will be about the overall EMS system and the role of the Office of EMS. Any recommendations brought from the workgroup in reference to the first three priorities will go directly to Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Shelton and her team. Any recommendations from the workgroup about system changes will go through the EMS Advisory Board as the next step.
- A FY24 Projected Revenue Breakdown can be accessed here. This shows the percentages for each fund and the projected revenue based on those percentages.
- The workgroup discussed the funding of the Regional EMS councils. The workgroup had $600,000 that became available to disburse to the regional councils. Chair Dillard asked the councils to decide amongst themselves which councils needed the highest priority of funding and to provide him with a list of the amounts recommended for each regional council. The following attachment lists how the $600,000 was to be distributed. The councils received these payments on Thursday December 14 and Friday December 15.
- Discussion was on on the Return to Locality Funding (RTL). The workgroup announced that there is approximately $3 million available now for RTL funding. After discussing this, the workgroup decided to start with the “oldest” RTL invoices and pay everything through FY22. This would total approximately $937,854. After discussing the FY23 invoices to workgroup decided to pay the jurisdictions with the lowest amount due (the smaller jurisdictions) with the remaining funding that available.
- The workgroup discussed also vendor payments. The workgroup were told by Virginia Department of Health’s Chief Operating Officer Christopher Lindsay that this was one of the “buckets” where no funding is currently available. The workgroup discussed the process moving forward for when funding becomes available. The workgroup decided to make recommendations based on clinical impact, statutory requirements, and EMS education.
- The workgroup also voted to remove language from paragraph G of the budget bill regarding localities being able to submit fingerprint cards and making funds available for Virginia State Police CCR checks for EMS members.
Members of the Workgroup include:
- Kevin Dillard, Chair
- Gary Critzer
- Dr. Paula Ferrada
- Dr. Allen Yee
- Brian Frankel
- Beth Adams
- Ed Rhodes
- Tracy McLaurin
- Andrew Slater
- Gary Tanner, VACo Representative
- Wayne Perry, Secretary
- JC Bolling
- Travis Pruitt
- Scott Winston, Staff Support
VACo will continue to report on this issue as the situation develops.
VACo Contact: Jeremy R. Bennett