PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP – Providence Township Fire Chief Rick Triggs reported two changes that the department is now handling: new Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requirements and an adjustment to how Lucas County’s 911 dispatching system coordinates sending out the water tender task force.
During the Providence Township Trustees’ March 18 meeting, Triggs explained that the DEA published its final rule implementing the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act (PPAEMA). Effective March 9, EMS agencies not owned or operated by a hospital must obtain a controlled substance registration from the DEA. This is something that PTFD has maintained over the years, Triggs said.
According to the American Ambulance Association, the new rules address gaps in regulatory clarity and accountability.
“For the first time, EMS agencies are formally recognized as DEA registrants in their own right. This designation brings long-needed clarity, but it also introduces direct responsibility for controlled substance compliance, documentation, and chain-of-custody tracking,” according to an AAA press release. “For EMS leaders, the PPAEMA isn’t just a regulatory technicality. It fundamentally changes how controlled substances must be tracked, documented, and reported.”
The DEA requires departments to have vaults or storage units with digital tracking to provide a continuous, time-stamped record of controlled substance activity. While PTFD has vaults that are bolted inside each ambulance for paramedics and advanced EMTs to access Narcan and other controlled substances, the current method utilizes a written log.
A digital vault would allow tracking to see who was in the vault, how long the door was open, and other details. The cost to get digital vaults for the two squads and the fire station is estimated at just under $10,000, he said.
“I’m sure the federal government and state are providing additional funding to pay for it,” Trustee Steve Kendall said sarcastically.
Another change that Triggs recently learned about is how the 911 RCOG dispatches the “tender task force” – other departments that arrive on scene with water tenders in areas that don’t have fire hydrants. Now Lt. Nick Meko will need to provide a list of task force departments to Fulton, Henry and Wood Counties, which all have crews to provide water in the event of a fire in different areas of the township.
PTFD is also dealing with its 2022 ambulance being out of commission following a February accident. Estimates for repairs are around $110,000, plus the cost to recertify all of the equipment on board. The ambulance drivers were not at fault in the accident, which resulted in one person filing a Worker’s Compensation claim, Triggs said.
During the meeting, trustees also:
-Listened to resident Craig Kemmer share his discussion with a representative for the Northwest Ohio Aggregation Coalition (NOAC), which the township relies upon to negotiate lower electric rates. Trustees agreed to utilize the NOAC contract with Dynergy instead of the Toledo Edison rates.
-Discussed the impact of recent high winds, including downed trees and wires.
-Heard road superintendent Kevin Keifer say that he is still awating quotes from electrical contractors about repairing wiring on fuel tanks.
-Learned that a furnace unit in the maintenance garage fell from the ceiling and damaged the backhoe hood, which can be replaced at a cost of $502. The old heater can be repaired and rehung with stronger anchors.
