Knox County Rescue (KCR) and its volunteers are about to embark on a new mission after joining with AMR (American Medical Response) in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to handle many of the Priority 2 medical/ambulance responses in parts of Knox County. KCR will begin this new assignment on Monday, January 20, 2025, after the MOU was signed earlier this week.
KCR’s quick response vehicles (QRVs) will respond from the KCR Headquarters on Chilhowee Drive for calls in East Knox County, parts of North Knox County and into certain areas of the city of Knoxville, roughly between the KCR station and downtown, said KCR Deputy Chief of Operations John Jones.
The Priority 2 calls are emergency urgent calls, such as falls, that require an immediate response with lights and sirens. These are typically not life-threatening situations, but could become more serious. This development will help AMR meet its emergency response times in its contract and agreement with Knox County, an issue that has been contentious for some time now between AMR and the county.
“We are excited about this and it’s a new part of how KCR will help and impact our community,” Jones added. “We’ll be doing basic life support for our citizens and it’s needed as the county and city continue to grow.”
In a way, this takes today’s KCR back to its roots when the then named Knoxville Volunteer Rescue Squad had ambulances that helped run emergency calls in Knoxville and Knox County. And prior to that, funeral homes here and across Tennessee handled much of the emergency call work for services.
KCR proposed this idea to AMR about three months ago. He said AMR’s Operations Chief Jerry Harnish and his staff were all for it if the details could be ironed out … and they have been.
“When KCR brought this idea to us we were immediately supportive,” Harnish said. “And I expect this to be very successful as it progresses. It will help in a lot of ways, for us and for the community. When someone calls 911 and needs help, they don’t care who shows up, as long as someone does.”
In the early 1980s, Harnish was a volunteer for the Rescue Squad and recalls making many emergency calls, or “runs” as they call them, in ambulances.
And Priority 2 calls do keep AMR busy. Harnish said they make up approximately 25% of their call volume daily, and he translated that into 200 calls a day. Priority 1 calls account for 51% of the volume and Priority 3 calls for 24%. Priority 3 deals with calls where an ambulance is not needed, he explained.
Jones said KCR will be running calls for 30 days starting Monday and then assessing how things are working with staffing and results. “After 90 days we’ll get with AMR and see where things stand and what if anything we need to do to improve this program,” Jones said. “We need to get a grip on the actual costs of operations.”
He said they are currently working on the schedule and staffing issues, noting that KCR depends on its volunteers and their availability. KCR has volunteers with certifications at all medical levels – from EMTs to critical care paramedics.
Jones became KCR’s deputy chief last summer and prior to that he was the agency’s Heavy Rescue Team captain.
Last summer AMR was fined almost $500,000 by the county for its slow response times to emergency calls. Under the most recent contract, AMR is fined when it does not attain a 90% response rate on the most serious calls. Priority 1 calls are for the most seriously injured patients and must be faster in the city of Knoxville (10 minutes) than in the county outside the city limits (20 minutes). AMR also is fined for late responses on the Priority 2 calls.
Knox County pays AMR approximately $2 million annually for additional staffing needs. When AMR doesn’t hit its targets, the penalties are subtracted from the subsidy Knox County pays. If penalties add up to more than the $2 million subsidy, AMR will pay the county the difference. Kevin Parton, senior director of the Knox County Health Department, says the money from penalties goes into the county’s general fund.
Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia. If you have someone you think we should consider featuring, please email him at the link with his name or text him at 865-659-3562.
