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Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service changes

A newly formed organization will be running the Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service.

Currently, Tippecanoe County Commissioners provide the ambulances and dispatch center, while Franciscan Saint Elizabeth Health staffs and operates the service. Beginning in July, the hospital group is partnering with IU Health Arnett to run the 24-hour emergency care effort.

A Board of Directors will set policy and procedures, hire staff, and provide general oversight, while a Medical Advisory Committee will recommend protocols. The board will include representatives from the two hospitals, county and cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette.

Franciscan President and CEO Terry Wilson says residents should not notice any differences. He says the new agreement means the group will be able to better plan such things as expansion and financial needs. It also is designed to help the county budget for ambulance replacement costs.

Terms of the agreement are still being finalized.

The ambulance service covers an area of 500 square miles. It responds to police and fire standbys for all of the volunteer and paid departments in Tippecanoe County, as well as the transferring patients to other hospitals.