HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Hopkinsville EMS shared at the July 23 Christian County Fiscal Court meeting that they had a significant net operating loss for this past fiscal year of $568,441.
Back in March they provided a financial update to the court, originally estimating a loss of over $600,000. The main contributing factor these numbers is a major breach that occurred with their billing company in February. The breach prevented them from receiving revenue for an extended period of time. They have been recovering from that hit and now have a new billing provider.
“We think that we are on the right track from a billing standpoint,” EMS Chairman Darrell Gustafson told the magistrates. “We are looking forward to getting closer to a positive cash flow this fiscal year.”
Hopkinsville EMS/Fire Chief Steve Futrell also told the court that they have positive revenue over expenses for the past three months, and he believes that in the next four or five months they will be back to where they want to be. Part of the struggle to bounce back includes what he describes as “historical expenses” explaining that costs for medical supplies have risen 200%.
Another challenge Hopkinsville EMS faces is the massive mileage they cover to serve people in Christian County. Futrell said they average 12,000 runs a year, which is 17% of the entire population of Christian County.
Aside from mileage responding to emergencies, ambulances make daily runs to and from Nashville and Louisville so patients can access services unavailable in the area. He specifically mentioned that the county has no trauma center, burn unit, or cardiac catheterization lab.
Among these challenges, Futrell remains positive about the new fiscal year saying, “We deal with the emergency at hand, no matter what.”
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