ESD, EMS seek to complete merger by early 2020

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The Gonzales County Emergency Services District #1 (ESD) crossed another milestone in its ongoing merger with the Gonzales Emergency Medical Services and Rescue (EMS). According to ESD executive director Eddie Callender Jr., the EMS is up to date on its bills.

Legal restrictions prevented the governmental ESD from outright absorbing the debts of the private EMS, so the EMS board reconstituted itself from 11 members to three. The change to board composition was done to expediate the merger and ensure the EMS continued to pay its bills and provide liability coverage to former EMS board members.

With the EMS’s financial situation stabilized and the ESD securing its state provider license in October, only the ESD securing its Medicare and Medicaid provider numbers stand in the way of the merger. Callender Jr. said the ESD has a tentative target merger date of Feb. 1, 2020.

He also mentioned the ESD has begun accepting internal applications from current EMS employees. Applications are currently only available to current EMS employees. According to Callender Jr. applications have been “flowing in.”

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