By Jim Hannah
and Chris Mayhew
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COVINGTON - City officials want to get into the paramedic business.

Commissioners discussed increasing ambulance service fees at Tuesday night's commission meeting to pay for a full-time staff of trained paramedics for the city's three ambulances, said Fire Chief Joe Heringhaus.

TransCare of Kentucky, a nonprofit group owned by a partnership of St. Luke and St. Elizabeth hospitals, provides paramedic service to Covington at no fee to the city.

Heringhaus said the city would increase the charge for dispatching one of its ambulances with no paramedic on board from $270 to $450. An ambulance with a paramedic would cost a resident $650.

TransCare now bills residents $720 for paramedic service.

Heringhaus said the city's first paramedics should be in place by Sept. 1. The city will eventually employ 16 paramedics. Eight of the positions would be new, and eight would come from the fire department's ranks.

Heringhaus said each paramedic would be cross-trained in firefighting techniques.

"The new service will give a better quality of life for all citizens and visitors to the City of Covington," Heringhaus said.

Covington's announcement came as county commissioners were seeking to bid paramedic service for the whole county. Each city would reimburse the county to use the service. Some county fire chiefs have proposed a countywide property tax to pay for paramedic service.

Currently, the 15 fire districts in the county, including Covington's, operate their own ambulances with on-board emergency medical technicians. TransCare provides paramedics to these fire districts at no charge. Paramedics are trained to administer medication and use a manual defibrillator, while other emergency personnel cannot.

"We can't continue offering this service, normally provided by a government agency to fire districts for free," said TransCare president Sam Grippa. "Covington has a tax base to support paramedic service in addition to charging a fee for each run. We get no tax money."

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com