Bixby Fire Department rolling out ambulance service

The City of Bixby will soon begin offering a new ambulance service to residents provided by the Bixby Fire Department.

The city held a “Wet Down” ceremony for the new service Friday at Bixby Fire Station No. 2.

The Bixby Fire Department will staff two ambulances, providing 24-hour emergency medical services coverage. The city says this transition to the city’s own fire department “will provide improved response times while continuing to provide high-level pre-hospital care.”

The new program, called BixbyCare, is an emergency medical transport service program that the city said will provide “valuable cost savings” on pre-hospital care and ambulance transport.

As with prior ambulance services, the program is supported via a subscription fee attached to each water bill. Residents or entities located within the Bixby city limits that utilize Bixby water, are already enrolled in the previous medical transport service program and will be automatically enrolled in BixbyCare.

The monthly BixbyCare fee ensures that eligible members who are transported via a BFD ambulance do not pay out-of-pocket expenses that are not covered by their health insurance.

For example, the average emergency ambulance transport costs $1,500. Insurance may cover only a portion of this charge, but BixbyCare subscribers pay nothing after a claim is submitted to their insurance provider.

“Maintaining a sustainable funding source for public safety is an important responsibility. We are a city that continues to experience incredible population growth which translates into a need for more emergency medical service,” the City of Bixby said in a statement.

According to city officials, a survey of Bixby citizens in 2020 showed “overwhelming support” for increasing the current subscription fee by at least $4 per month. The city council recently approved a new subscription fee of $7.50 a month.

The fee increase will be reflected on the January utility bill. More information can be found about BixbyCare at a FAQ section on the city’s website, which is https://www.bixbyok.gov/FAQ.aspx.