Marco Island could move forward with ambulance service proposal

The City of Marco Island is one step closer to getting its own emergency medical services.

The Emergency Medical Authority Committee in Collier County voted 3-2 on Tuesday to approve the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and will recommend approval from the city council.

Dr. Gerald Swiacki, chairman of Our City Our Ambulance committee, said the next step is working out the requirements Marco Island needs to meet to have its own service — which includes conditions like the number of employees and how many hours they put in per week.

At this time, only two ambulances service Marco Island. The city has a Fire Rescue EMS Service, but those paramedics are not allowed to administer life-saving drugs or even transport patients to the hospital.

“Many times the county ambulances here are available, sometimes they’re not,” Swiacki said. “Having our own ambulance, there’s a higher probability that we will have an ambulance that is available to transport to the hospital if necessary.”

The conditions are expected to get presented to county commissioners in three weeks. After a framework for the ambulance gets approved, it would go on the ballot in August.