No decision made to establish ambulance district

HAYWOOD COUNTY, Tenn. — The City of Brownsville is still in the process of evaluating whether to establish an ambulance district within its city limits to improve emergency medical services and ensure consistent coverage for residents.

The City of Brownsville will have to wait another 30 days to see a new ambulance service within city limits.

Ambulance services of Lexington Inc., owned by Braden Health, said they will add two new trucks with “all new and top of the line” equipment at no subsidy for the community.

This would be on a 10-year contract with additional trucks added later at no cost if needed.

Ambulance services of Lexington Inc. already operates one ambulance at the Haywood County Community Hospital that assists with transfers.

During a special called meeting at City Hall on Thursday, ambulance services of Lexington said this would be a collaborative effort with the fire department–with the vision to be called “Brownsville Fire and EMS.”

“In my opinion it’s an excellent deal,” said Brownsville Fire Department Chief Lyn Sanders. “We’re getting three ambulances in the City of Brownsville dedicated to us at no cost. It’s hard to argue that being a bad point.”

Mayor Rawls, Jr. said the need for additional ambulances services in Brownsville comes after Haywood County Ambulance Authority has been stretched thin due to requirements of BlueOval City.

However, Haywood County Ambulance Authority said they’ve been serving the community for more than 50 years and that it’s too early to to make a decision.

At the conclusion of the meeting, there was a motion to table the bill. Now it goes back into the agenda and needs a ⅔ vote to come off the table.

Ambulance Services of Lexington, Inc. currently services Houston, Decatur and Henderson Counties.

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