By Stan Welch
The non-partisan civic and political organization, the First Monday Club, will welcome Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore on Monday, April 4 to discuss the current and future status of emergency health care in Anderson County.
The program should be especially timely in light of the ongoing study of those issues, which consulting firm Fitch & Associates is in the midst of. County administrator Rusty Burns informed The Journal that the process of interviewing various parties and collecting data is complete. The firm will be reviewing existing contracts and arrangements, as well as calculating the effects of the numerous and constant changes going on in emergency medical care today.
“The remaining review and analysis will take between two and three months. We are being as deliberate and thorough as possible. The decisions that will be made will impact the people of Anderson County for generations to come. No such decisions have been made at this point. Haste simply has no value in this process,” said Burns.
The need for such a process became evident in late 2014 last, when the Williamston Squad, overwhelmed by poor management practices, was struggling to meet its routine operating obligations. Following urgent meetings with the board of directors of the squad, the County Council moved in and made an arrangement with private medical provider Medshore, also owned by Shore, to assume operation on a one year contract.
The County Council subsequently reviewed the condition of all the county’s squads and found that all were in varying degrees of financial distress. Following a search for consultants, Fitch & Associates, a firm out of North Platte Nebraska, was awarded the contract.
Greg Shore was first elected to the office of Coroner in 1996. He is also the founder of MedShore which he formed in 1976. Medshore currently has over 500 employees and 100 ambulances.
If you will look at your property tax bill you will see the millage rate for EMS. Part of Shore’s presentation will include how tax money is being used. Below is a sample tax bill from 2014:
COUNTY BASE MILLAGE RATE Anderson County .08530
County Ordinary .03460
Capital Projects Fund .00040
GO Bond 2007 Series .00110
Infrastructure Reserve Fund .00300
GO Bond 2008 .00100
Library .00650
County EMS .00680
Sheriff’s Department Fund .03080
GO Bond 2005 Series .00110
The First Monday Club meets at Master Wok’s restaurant on Clemson Boulevard. The meeting includes a buffet lunch, which costs ten dollars.
