Forsyth County Avoids Ambulance-Service Shutdown

CUMMING, GA -- The Forsyth County Commission approved a new ambulance service on Wednesday, reacting to the former provider threatening to stop service over money and other troubles.

Central Emergency Medical Services assumed operations at 9 a.m. Thursday after the commission’s unanimous vote, the Forsyth County News is reporting.

The move came after Advanced Ambulance, which had been Forsyth’s provider since 2008, notified the county that it may have to shut down as early as Wednesday morning, the paper reported.

County officials told the News that Advanced Ambulance’s financial troubles were worsened by a search warrant filed at the company’s office and its owner’s residence on January 4.

Computers and billing software were taken, the company’s lawyer, Stuart Teague, told the paper, making it impossible to bill for work that had already been done and difficult to continue working.

Forsyth County Sheriff’s Maj. Rick Doyle confirmed that a search warrant had been executed, but declined to say what it was for.

The county had been scheduled to pay Advance Ambulance nearly $1.3 million for service in 2016. There will continue to be seven staffed ambulances in the county to respond to emergencies according to terms of the county’s deal with Central Emergency, the News reported.

(Photo via Wikimedia Commons)