Frequently Asked Questions

Yancey EMS Policy on Interfacility Transports:

Our primary responsibility at Yancey County 911 is to provide emergency response services for 911 calls. We prioritize this function to ensure rapid and effective assistance in critical situations.

We do accept interfacility transports only under certain conditions:

1. Emergency Basis Only:  Interfacility transports are conducted only if the situation qualifies as an emergency.
2. Availability of Units: We will consider interfacility transports only if we have at least 2 of our 3 EMS units available to respond to 911 emergencies.
3. Patient Eligibility: The patient must be a resident of Yancey County.
4. Travel Radius: Our interfacility transport services are available within a 60-mile radius of Blue Ridge Regional Hospital (BRRH).

It is essential to note that the responsibility for coordinating interfacility transports lies with the transferring and receiving hospitals. Yancey EMS will assist with these transports when possible, but our primary focus remains on emergency 911 responses.

Additionally, Mission Hospital operates its own interfacility transport service, which should be utilized for these types of calls.

Yancey EMS Policy on Discharge Transport to Nursing Home Facilities:

Yancey EMS is committed to providing emergency medical services and interfacility transports under specific conditions. However, we have clear guidelines regarding transport for patients being discharged to nursing home facilities:

1. Medical Necessity: Yancey EMS will only provide ambulance transport for patients being discharged to nursing home facilities if the patient meets the criteria for medical necessity. Specifically, this means the patient must be bed-bound and require medical supervision during transport.
2. Nursing Home Responsibility:  For patients who do not meet the criteria for medical necessity (i.e., those who are not bed-bound), it is the responsibility of the nursing home facility to arrange and provide transportation for their residents who have been discharged from a hospital.

These guidelines are in accordance with North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) regulations, which stipulate that the responsibility for non-medical transportation of discharged residents falls to the nursing home facilities.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in ensuring that our resources are used effectively for emergency responses and medically necessary transports.

Yancey EMS will try to accommodate taking residents to scheduled doctor appointments who meet medical necessity for ambulance transport.

- Notice Requirements: Residents must notify Yancey EMS two weeks in advance for appointments outside Yancey County and one week for those within the county.

- Required Documents: Residents Primary Care Provider must fax a valid medical necessity prior to scheduling transport. 

- Availability: There is no guarantee of ambulance availability; emergency calls take priority over scheduled appointments.

- Emergency Status: At least one ambulance must be available for emergency calls before an ambulance can be assigned to a scheduled transport.

- Decision Authority: The on-duty supervisor/director has the final say regarding scheduled transports based on the current status of emergency calls.

For questions, or to schedule a transport, please call Yancey EMS Base. 

Contact EMS MC Billing Company at 1-866-949-9715