The Coffee County EMS advisory board voted to accept an application from a private ambulance operator that says it will base service in the county after AmeriMed vacated its Tullahoma office.

Paul Kendall, representing the applicant, told the board his company focuses on psychiatric transports and has partnerships with regional behavioral facilities. "We're doing psychiatric patients," Kendall said, adding that the company is headquartered in Memphis, opened a Murfreesboro office in January and plans to license one truck locally before growing presence as demand dictates.

Board members discussed how psychiatric transports have been handled under a longstanding arrangement with the Coffee County sheriff’s office and noted the operational need to preserve audit trails for grant reporting. Staff described a process used historically: hospitals called the county communications center, the center issued a CAD entry and the sheriff’s sergeant coordinated whether to dispatch a deputy or a contracted provider. The board said problems arose when hospitals began calling private contractors directly because that practice bypassed CAD records used for grant audits and for county authorization of payment.

Board members asked whether an exclusivity agreement with AmeriMed and the sheriff’s office would prevent new contractors from operating; staff said voluntary transports arranged directly by hospitals can be handled by private providers, but involuntary psychiatric transports must go through the sheriff under the current statutory process (referred to in the meeting as "6404"). Staff added that the existing agreement includes language allowing deputized or contracted transport alternatives when the contracted provider is not available in a timely manner.

The board confirmed the applicant had submitted the application and fee, which appeared to have cleared, and moved to accept the application. A motion to accept passed on a voice vote; the board recorded no opposition. The applicant said it plans to use the same office AmeriMed occupied and will notify the board once a local location is finalized.

Board members asked staff to reconcile the county’s contractual arrangement with the sheriff, the requirement to maintain CAD/grant audit trails for transports, and how voluntary hospital calls should be routed in practice. The board requested follow-up to ensure billing and grant-tracking processes will cover any transports the county authorizes or pays.

No ordinance or new contract was adopted at the meeting; the board accepted the application and asked staff to return with clarifications about dispatch and billing procedures.