Columbia County Emergency Management

Emergency Medical Services

Columbia County EMS

History

Columbia County began operations of EMS on April of 1990 through the Board of County Commissioners. The County’s goal was to have a superior service for the “Gateway to Florida”. This involved upgrading units and equipment to the most current standards and increasing the knowledge base of Paramedics and seeing that transport units are staffed with Paramedics.

Operations

Currently, the EMS Department has one Director, 18 full time field personnel and three ALS transport units. Since operations began in 1990, EMS has seen an annual increase in responses of 10% per year. Units are stationed in Columbia City and Lake City.

Columbia County EMS works closely with seven County Volunteer Fire Departments that supplement the EMS department by providing First Responders through Memorandium of Understandings. We have expanded Our AED (automatic external defibrillator) program to include all but two of the 7 VFD’s.

Administrative

Columbia County actively participates in the Bureau of EMS grants program. Through the EMS awards, rural and matching grants, CCEMS has been able to obtain; communications equipment, transport units and educational materials to better promote Emergency Medical Services in Columbia County.

EMS Billing

This is an advanced clerical and record keeping position, which involves the application of medical terminology principles for the establishment of medical and/or billing records. This department maintains records involving a variety of complex medical treatments administered during emergency medical responses throughout the county. Reviews and interprets Emergency Medical Services reports for the input of billing and completes medical information. Enters charges based on procedures outlined in the County Fee Schedule. Enters information according to the different needs of the various insurance carriers including Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial Insurance and private pays. Handles all accounts receivable for Columbia County EMS transports.

Health Care Responsibility Act (HCRA)

Responsible for determining residency and eligibility and submitting claims for the reimbursement of in-county and out-of-county hospitals for emergency services (inpatient and outpatient) provided to county indigents. Prepares monthly caseload and appeals reports to document caseload activity for the previous month. Completes quarterly financial reports on expenditures and claim activity to track and verify claims paid for each HCRA applicant.