(A) Fees.
(1) The fee for Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance service (BLS) shall be $500.
(2) The fee for Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance service shall be $750.
(3) A nonresident fee of $100 shall be assessed when applicable.
(4) A nontransport fee shall be assessed in the amount of $100 for all calls for ambulance service where:
(a) The Hammond Fire Department provides any type of medical treatment; and
(b) The patient declines transportation thereafter.
(5) The mileage fee for a loaded ambulance being used to transport any person shall be $17.50 per mile, from place of pick up to medical destination.
(6) The standard fee for any ambulance being used to transport any person who requires oxygen shall be $20 per transport, regardless of quantity utilized.
(B) Funds. The funds shall be used for the hiring of 6 EMTs (emergency medical technicians) for station #7 at 1545 173rd St. and for the purchase of a new ambulance each year.
(C) Collection.
(1) The funds shall be collected at the direction of the Chief Fiscal Officer of the city.
(2) The Law Department is authorized to initiate collection actions for the ambulance fee in the following situations:
(a) The ambulance fee is a covered item under an insurance policy and the insurance company fails to pay the fee; or
(b) The insurance company paid the fee to the insured individual and that individual has not paid the fee to the city.
(3) No collection action is authorized against an individual who is uninsured or against an individual whose insurance company does not pay the entire ambulance fee.
(4) (a) In the event that collections for ambulance service exceed $665,000 during a calendar year, $125,000 of the balance collected over that amount shall be appropriated the following year to a nonreverting fund for the Hammond Fire Department.
(b) The fund shall be used only for the purchase of equipment or supplies or to cover training or testing costs. This fund shall not be used for salaries, benefits or compensation.
(D) One firefighter shall be trained in paramedic medicine, each year, for the next 4 years, so as to provide a paramedic and an emergency medical technician on an ambulance, at the same time.
(Prior Code, § 93.05) (Ord. 7598, passed 7-26-1993; Am. Ord. 8348, passed 4-9-2001; Am. Ord. 8753, passed 4-24-2006; Am. Ord. 9161, passed 6-11-2012; Am. Ord. 9357, passed 10-24-2016; Am. Ord. 9517, passed 9-27-2021)