By Randy Travis
Published April 6, 2020
ATLANTA – The Atlanta VA Medical Center suspended indefinitely its ambulance contract with a local company after a FOX 5 I-Team investigation raised questions about the safety of veterans.
Metro Health EMS won the contract in November 2019 to manage all non-emergency ambulance trips for medically fragile veterans in the Atlanta area. This would typically involve dialysis treatments or visits to the doctor.
Some of the veterans who lost the use of their legs but were otherwise moderately healthy could go by stretcher van, a vehicle not equipped with medical supplies or medical personnel. Stretcher vans are not licensed by the state.
The VA gave the ambulance services contract to Metro Health EMS even though it doesn’t have a Georgia license to be an ambulance service. Instead, Metro Health EMS agreed to handle the stretcher van calls and then hire a subcontractor for the more serious ambulance calls.
It was an unusual arrangement that created immediate controversy.
After only a few weeks, one of those subcontractors complained to the Georgia Department of Public Health that Metro Health was running those ambulance calls on its own, putting veterans’ lives at risk.
Remember, if Metro Health used its own vans rather than bringing in a subcontractor, it got to keep all the money for the trip.
We spotted many of those stretcher vans equipped with oxygen tanks, something only a licensed ambulance service is supposed to be able to obtain and provide.
Our story sparked a state investigation. DPH issued a cease and desist order against Metro Health EMS, accusing the company of breaking the law, “transporting patients on oxygen, ventilators, IV pumps, and transporting trauma patients to WellStar Atlanta Medical Center.”
It also found serious problems with the company’s chief operating officer Brian Doyle. The state said he broke the law too, by representing himself as a paramedic when he’s not.
“Brian L. Doyle has committed egregious violations… placing the public’s safety, health and welfare at risk,” the order said.
We reached out to Metro Health and Doyle for comment but did not get a response.
ProCare EMS is now in charge of taking medically-fragile veterans to their doctor’s appointments and dialysis. They’re a licensed ambulance company in Georgia.
The VA says the Metro Health EMS contract is “under review by the National Contracting Office. The appropriate decision will be made after the investigation is complete.”
Even though the Georgia Department of Public Health accused the company and Doyle of breaking the law, no charges have been filed.
However, the state warned that if either Doyle or Metro Health holds themselves out to be a paramedic or a licensed ambulance company again, they’ll have to deal with law enforcement.
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