St. Tammany Fire District 11 Chief Robbie Crowe wants Pearl River residents to know he’s not trying to keep Acadian Ambulance out of their town.

“I just want them to regulate their costs and their coverage,” he said. “I’m looking to improve the quality of emergency care in our district.”

Crowe’s comments about the private service have stirred up a lot of controversy over the last several months.

The Fire District 11 fleet of ambulances. The district now provides Advanced Life Support and Basic Life Support certified personnel for the Town of Pearl River. (Courtesy photo)

The trouble started after his district began providing EMS service last April, as a result of a tax millage approved by district voters.

The town does not have a contract with Acadian, so 9-1-1 calls from within town limits go directly to District 11. Calls from outside town limits, however, go through the parish dispatcher in Covington, who routes them to Acadian.

In those instances, District 11 will be called as the secondary, or backup responder.

According to John O’Neill, director of fire services for the parish, Acadian’s contract only extends to the unincorporated areas of the parish. The contract allows them up to 16 minutes and 59 seconds to respond to a call.

In addition, they are only required to meet that obligation 90 percent of the time.

Penalties don’t kick in until the percentage falls below 80 percent.

Crowe’s team has several documented response times of three minutes or less, and has on many occasions intercepted and cancelled the call to Acadian.

This can be problematic, if someone has specifically requested Acadian to respond in a medical emergency.

Such was the case earlier this year, when Sam Phillips, who heads up the town’s planning commission, suffered an episode of congestive heart failure.

Phillips, whose wife has been ill for more than a year, said he had called 9-1-1 at least 12 to 14 times during that course of time.

Of those, he said he used District 11 ambulances “maybe three times.” On the other occasions, it was Acadian.

When he awoke at 2:30 a.m. one January morning, unable to breathe, he said he just wanted to be treated by the service that was most familiar to him.

“I’ve just used Acadian more, so I’m more comfortable with them,” said Phillips. “I feel it’s my prerogative to have who I want.”

The District 11 team responded anyway, arriving within five minutes, treating him and transporting him to a nearby hospital. Phillips was still left feeling none too generous towards the fire chief for authorizing the action.

Crowe said that many times his personnel couldn’t always locate an Acadian unit, in order to properly serve as backup. O’Neill confirms this, noting that many times the District 11 team will have a patient treated and loaded for transport before Acadian even shows up.

Acadian rents a piece of property from District 11 that serves as a local command center, just outside the town limits. According to Crowe, the service won’t guarantee a truck in Pearl River, however. He also says the company won’t sign a mutual aid agreement with his department, as it has with other fire districts.

Acadian’s Vice President of Operations, Dan Lennie, said that’s not the case.

“We do not have a contract with the town of Pearl River, and we have never been asked to guarantee a truck there,” said Lennie. “The latest version of the mutual aid agreement was received only recently, and it is under review.”

Acadian’s contract with the parish was extended for one year last December. O’Neill says that Crowe is not alone in voicing his concerns, that many in the parish feel there are serious issues that need to be addressed.

While response times are just one of those issues, pricing is another. District 11 charges flat fees based on three levels of service. Basic Life Support is $350, Advanced Life Support is $450, or Advanced Life Support II is $550.

Acadian breaks down their pricing into Emergency service, which is $568, and Non-Emergency, which is $329. Added to that are mileage charges, which are $15.90 for up to 50 miles, $8.50 per mile for 50 to 100 miles, and $7.40 per mile for trips over 100 miles.

Another item under scrutiny is the Acadian-On-Call service, in which an individual pays for a device that links directly to Acadian dispatchers. Those dispatchers are not based in St. Tammany Parish, and that means local emergency services, such as District 11, won’t be able to respond, even if they have a unit in the immediate vicinity.

Just before the contract was extended, Acadian purchased their only competitor, Lifeguard Ambulance Service. A legal opinion is now being sought from the state attorney general on whether or not Acadian can in fact be the sole provider of emergency service in St. Tammany.

The state’s Home Rule Charter provides for regulation by a local governing body of any private ambulance service operating within its boundaries.

Crowe says this means the town can force Acadian to adjust their fee structure, and abide by standards for medically acceptable response times, and O’Neill agrees.

The chief has taken a lot of public heat for his aggressive stance with the company, but remains firm in his conviction.

“The town spent a lot of money to get this service, and I get paid the same whether we have EMS or not,” said Crowe. “I just want Acadian to look out for our citizens a little better.”