COCONINO COUNTY — The Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) recently denied an application for EMS services by a nearby hospital in Utah, leaving certain residents of Fredonia in Coconino County without ambulance services. The nearest municipality with services is Colorado City in northern Mohave County 32 miles away, but personnel is limited.
For 40 years, the Kane County Hospital in Utah has been providing service to the city of Fredonia south of the Utah border near northern Mohave County, and has been seeking an official permit to provide services for the last three years.
The conflict began when the fire department in Page, Arizona filed a complaint with the AZDHS, stating that Kane County was operating unlawfully in Arizona. The AZDHS issued a “Notice of Investigation” on July 1 and informed Kane County that it was in violation of Arizona law by operating without a Certificate of Necessity (CON).
The application now also includes an opposition letter from the Page City Manager, Bryan Hill. In a statement regarding the situation, the Kane County Hospital argues that no other agency in Arizona has tried to serve Fredonia. Colorado City has limited personnel and the Page City Fire Department does not operate outside of city limits.
“No one has been willing to cover this particular part of Arizona, yet we have been denied the CON and now are being investigated for helping Arizona with ambulance transports,” the statement says.
Kane County Hospital says that AZDHS Deputy Bureau Chief Noreen Adlin made the decision to deny their application. When they asked if she realized the implications of that decision for the residents of Fredonia and surrounding areas, she said, “I’m aware.”
In an interview with ABC4 Utah on July 3, Kane County Hospital board chair Jeff Mosdell said they have been threatened with legal action if they cross the border to provide EMS service. He says that AZDHS has options, but is so far refusing to use them.
“The solution is the Arizona Department of Public Health has the right to do a temporary permit, they have the right to grandfather us in,” Mosdell said in the interview. “Those are in the laws, they have the right to do this. It’s just that somebody has decided that they are not going to do that in this circumstance.”
The City of Fredonia held an emergency town hall council meeting on July 3. The next day, the city declared a state of emergency due to the lack of EMS services. The only incorporated municipality north of the Grand Canyon and near Fredonia is Colorado City, which is located in north Mohave County and is 32 miles away from Fredonia. The county seat of Coconino County is in Flagstaff, located 194 miles away.
The Arizona Department of Health Services did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Alan Hayman
