SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WTVF) — Spring Hill will maintain its current ambulance service for the next six months while city and county officials work toward a long-term agreement over who is responsible for emergency medical services in a city that straddles the Williamson-Maury county line.
For Jack O'Neill, the stakes of that question are deeply personal. When his son Michael was 18 years old, a bad car wreck changed their lives.
"When they found him in the wreck, his legs were by his head. So the ambulance ride, they got him to the hospital in 10 minutes, to a life flight in 30 minutes," O'Neill said.
Michael survived a traumatic brain injury that still affects their lives today.
"They come out to you and they say, 'Well, your son may be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life,'" O'Neill said.
O'Neill said the speed of that ambulance response made all the difference.
"He's alive today because of the ambulance service that he had," O'Neill said.
"Money — it shouldn't be on the table. It shouldn't be discussed when it comes to people's health and welfare," O'Neill said.
Since 2020, Williamson County has provided EMS service to Spring Hill, and Spring Hill's fire stations house the two Williamson Health ambulances that serve the city. That arrangement is now under pressure.
Under Tennessee state law, EMS and ambulance services are designated as an essential service, and counties are required to either provide the service or make arrangements for it to be provided. Williamson County provides that service through Williamson Health.
A few weeks ago, Williamson County began suggesting it would end services on the Maury County side of Spring Hill at the end of the fiscal year unless Spring Hill provided a subsidy. The timing did not give Maury County much time to react or make transitional plans.
Spring Hill Mayor Matt Fitterer said the city is not willing to accept a reduction in service.
"We are not in any way going to accept a scenario where there is a degradation in services on either side of the county line," Fitterer said.
In April, Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson said more than half of the EMS calls to Spring Hill are on the Maury County side. Fitterer said it is fair to expect Maury County taxpayers to cover their share of the cost, but that all parties need time to find a workable solution.
"Reasonable minds need to land in a fair and reasonable spot," Fitterer said.
Fitterer said one potential solution could be Maury County paying a subsidy to cover EMS runs on its side of the county line. Fitterer said Spring Hill is not interested in bearing the expense of what state law defines as a county obligation. If costs are to be supplemented, Fitterer said, it should be Maury County — or Maury County should provide the service itself.
Williamson Health has agreed to continue providing EMS coverage to all of Spring Hill for the next six months while a long-term solution is negotiated. Maury County leaders said they want all parties to meet before making any comment.
Fitterer said providing EMS services citywide through a single provider is far more practical and results in better continuity of care and improved service integration with the Spring Hill Fire Department.
"And not just ambulances leaving town in the middle of the night when the fiscal year flips," Fitterer said.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com.
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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