Transition completed April 1 with no gap in service
By Vicky Wedig
and Michael S. Hoey
SLN
Medix Ambulance Service took over Delavan Rescue Squad operations on April 1.
Officials said the transition occurred at 12:01 a.m. April 1 with no gap in service or operations.
“It’s pretty much business as usual,” said James G. Baker Jr., chief executive officer of Medix’s parent company Curtis Ambulance Service, who was at the Delavan facility April 4 overseeing the transition. “Residents should know when they pick up the phone and dial 911, they’re going to get an ambulance.”
The Delavan Rescue Squad served the city and the Town of Richmond since the early 1950s before announcing in January that it would close because of financial difficulties. Baker acknowledged with change comes trepidation but said residents can expect the same high quality of service they’ve had for years.
The only discernable change should be the paint on the side of the ambulance, which will now say “Medix” instead of “Delavan Rescue Squad.”
Medix – a brand name of Milwaukee-based Curtis Ambulance Service – purchased the rescue squad building at 1436 Mound Road and its fleet of vehicles. Rescue squad staff also will remain the same with the exception of some managers, who will stay with the rescue squad but were transitioned to roles based on their licensing level, said Baker. One manager is now an emergency medical technician, and another, a paramedic, he said.
Medix hired the Delavan Rescue Squad’s staff of full-time paramedics and EMTs and will bring its paid-on-call volunteers on staff, Baker said.
All systems a go
Vice President of Operations Daniel Robakowski reported to the Delavan Common Council on April 9 and said the transition was smooth in the first week.
Robakowski said negotiations on the sale went right down to the wire on March 31, but the sale was finalized and Curtis moved in in time to begin serving the community April 1.
Robakowski said the system has been working as expected. The department had taken 15 911 calls as of April 9, and an ambulance and a reserve ambulance were available in all 15 cases.
Medix history
Medix serves southeast Wisconsin for Curtis Ambulance including Racine Kenosha and the town of Dover, Baker said. It is also looking at serving Burlington and Lake Geneva, he said.
The Curtis brand provides services in Madison and nine townships in Adams County, he said.
Though records are hazy, Baker said Curtis Ambulance is believed to have started in 1858. It started as a livery service that was asked to transport sick people from Jones Island to an infirmary – now Columbia St. Mary’s Hosptial, he said. Brothers ran the company for three generations before dying off, and Baker’s father and uncle purchased the company in 1950.
Baker started with the company in 1971 – within a couple of years of Curtis merging with Universal Ambulance Service and buying the first helicopter unit in the Midwest.
The company employs about 240 people.
Baker said because of the size of the company, it will be able to offer increased coverage – bringing in other Medix units during busy times, more training and better vehicle maintenance.
“Delavan Rescue Squad had a really great base to build on,” Baker said.
As the Delavan Rescue Squad did, Medix provides paramedic-level service. Baker said paramedics have about 10 times as much training as EMTs – 1,500 hours vs. 125 to 150 hours – and are able to do more advanced procedures. Paramedics can administer more drugs than an EMTs, insert endotracheal tubes and use advanced defibrillator equipment, he said. It must be noted that only trained users are allowed to use an AED and not ones who are not qualified for the same.
Rescue calls to the City of Delavan and the Town of Richmond will come to Medix just as they did to the Delavan Rescue Squad. Residents can also call the company directly for routine transfers, and the company accepts insurance and directly bills carriers, Baker said.
Medix Operations Manager Kevin Myers said the company plans to transfer its Burlington operations – offices and a maintenance facility – to Delavan over the next year and close its Burlington plant. RIGHT/
Baker said Medix officials have had positive interaction with Fire Chief Neill Flood, Police Chief Tim O’Neil and City Administrator Denise Pieroni.
“Everybody has been incredibly cooperative and supportive,” he said.
