County, Mercy agree on terms to continue ambulance service

The ambulance service issue was brought up again during the Bourbon County Commission meeting Friday.

The commission has agreed to a new contract with Mercy Health Systems of Kansas for an ambulance service. The new contract states that the county will pay MHSK $23,000 per month to operate the service.

"I think that's cheaper than we can get anywhere else," Bourbon County Commission Chairman Terry Graham said.

MHSK notified the county of an increase in reimbursement to operate the county's ambulance service in early January. According to the contract, the county was given the deadline of 180 days, or by July 6, 2009, to come to a decision.

The old contract stated the county would pay MHSK $14,651 per month.

At a total of $276,000 per year, Bourbon County continues to pay a significantly lower total than surrounding counties. Allen County and Lynn County currently pay about $700,000 per year. Vernon County pays about $900,000 in property tax and insurance to fund an independent ambulance service.