By this summer, Pella Community Ambulance will likely be an official City of Pella department. At this week’s Pella City Council meeting, a conditional resolution of support was approved to assume control of assets for the non-profit organization.

Assistant City Administrator Corey Goodenow says this is the first step to proceed with the transfer of Pella Community Ambulance into a city service. He believes the city’s net cost to operate the emergency medical service will be
approximately $300,000 — which was allocated in the current fiscal year budget.

Pella Community Ambulance has provided critical care to the community for 40 years. The move comes as the number of calls received has continued to increase over the past few years, reaching nearly 1,900 in 2021. That volume, coupled with a decreasing volunteer/part-time labor pool, has resulted in the need for the Pella Community Ambulance to hire full-time staff. A larger percentage of the service calls are Medicaid or Medicare patients, which generates a lower reimbursement rate versus privately insured patients. The combination of these factors has created a financial hardship for the entity.

Currently, Pella Community Ambulance is also not eligible for state grant reimbursements which would help offset the lower reimbursement rates for Medicaid or Medicare patients.

Later this spring, the Pella City Council will need to approve the following to complete the transfer:
1. An asset transfer agreement which transfers all assets of the Pella Community Ambulance to the City of Pella.
2. Offers of employment to the employees of the Pella Community Ambulance.
3. An ordinance establishing the Pella Community Ambulance as a municipal service.