Report: Three Rivers saw most ambulance transfers from south Big Horn County

Cody Regional Health (CRH) ambulances responded to 792 calls for service last year in south Big Horn County, according to a year-end report presented last week to the Three Rivers Health board of directors.

Phillip Franklin, CRH’s emergency medical services director, presented the report and provided an update on CRH staffing during the meeting held Wednesday evening.

The report classified 599 of the 792 calls for service as 911 response, 203 as transfers and 30 as standbys. 

Other activity noted in the report included 397 911 transports, 116 calls that ended in patient refusals, 38 calls that were cancelled and eight calls where individuals were found dead on ambulance arrival.

Basin had the most ambulance calls, 280, followed by Greybull with 181 and Three Rivers Health with 135. Manderson and Shell were listed as the location for 45 and 40 calls, respectively.

Franklin said 328 of the patients who were transported by CRH ambulances were taken to Three Rivers Health. Billings Clinic was next with 68. 

Washakie Medical Center ranked third with 67. Franklin attributed that to the Worland hospital being the preferred hospital for the Wyoming Retirement Center and residents in the Manderson area.

Only 14 of the ambulance calls from south Big Horn County resulted in a transport to Cody Regional Health. Ten went to North Big Horn Hospital and two to Powell Valley Healthcare.

Franklin said CRH typically staffs “a truck and a half” — one that’s on 24 hours a day seven days a week, the other approximately 12 hours a day that typically handles transports.

In total, CRH has 12 full-time employees assigned to south Big Horn County, Franklin said.

Chairman Jeff Petty said that because he also serves on Shell Fire, he’s seen firsthand how quickly CRH ambulances respond to calls. For a time, it was a concern the fact that Shell EMTs were not allowed to transport. But that’s no longer the case with CRH being able to respond so quickly, he said.

Finances

After several months of strong financials, TRH took a slight step backward in January, showing a net operating loss for the month of $266,181.

Mike Garza, the finance department manager, attributed the loss to an allowance adjustment for the Legacy system (MedWorxs) cleanup and a Cost Report Model adjustment.

Other financial indicators were positive. 

Patient gross service revenue for January was $1.4 million, compared to $1.2 million in December. 

TRH documented 51 acute days, up from 22 in December, and 673 clinic visits, up from 548 in December. ER visits were off slightly, falling from 136 in December to 104 in January.

TRH also saw its contract labor expenses decrease from $165,000 in December to $98,000 in January. The year-to-date total is $733,000.

Meanwhile, the board designated account grew to $634,000 with the deposit of $218,000 in tax revenue from the county. After tapping this account several times last fiscal year to fund operations, the board has yet to draw from it in FY 24. Jackson said the plan is to continue on that path until the next fiscal year, which would set the stage for discussion about capital improvements. 

The need for a new telemetry system has been discussed, with Jackson describing it as “an opportunity for us to provide better care for patients as well as a way to keep them here, which in turn helps with revenue.”

Billings Clinic has offered to assist TRH in the selection of equipment.