WAYSIDE UNNECESSARILY COSTING US MILLIONS

As many know we have covered Wayside Christian Mission on many occasions. We have also questioned the real concerns of Tim and Nina Mosely who run the organization. It looks like there is even more to the story than we have outed previously thanks to Adam Walser over at WHAS 11 I-Team Investigation: Hundreds of Calls Reflect Need For Homeless Healthcare Solution WHAS11.com Louisville News, Breakin...

A study conducted in 2006 estimated those annual costs at $44 Million, with nearly a third of that total related to providing health care. This can often lead to a strain on emergency services, like police, fire and EMS.

At Wayside Christian Mission, the city's largest homeless facility, calls for help come often, despite the existence of programs meant to alleviate burdens on the emergency response system. Calls for police, fire and EMS come from Wayside nearly every day.

In fact, during the past two years, an average of nearly 16 calls a month have come from Wayside’s main facility at 432 East Jefferson Street. Metrosafe indicates there were 1,644 calls in all from Jan 2009- Jan 2011

And this is a serious problem. One that has serious repercussions for every taxpayer.

Many questions come to mind immediately. One, what happens when Metro is overused and someone else needs an ambulance or medical care? Two, should Wayside be tax exempt at our expense? There are many more but let's deal with these for a second.

Wayside Christian Mission does not pay any taxes in Louisville and never has. Nina and Tim Mosely do not pay taxes in Louisville preferring to pay their real estate taxes in Indiana. So what gives?

At a cost of $44 million to we the taxpayer in 2006, and that number has grown surely since then, we must begin anew to question the priorities. Many reports have been that Wayside uses ambulatory services for non life threatening needs just because they can and that saves them having to provide transportation. At their cost.

Millions have been wasted alone just on this scenario.

According to Walser, many calls are made each day from Wayside for emergency services and yet the staff does not appear trained to handle emergencies.

“There's no extension upstairs and I can't leave the desk,” said another caller. “I'm just the man that makes the calls. “

“The staff at shelters are not medically trained, per se. We can recognize when someone needs to be at the clinic,” said Moseley.

“They've resorted to calling us, because they don't know who else to call,” said Mindy Glenn, of Metrosafe. “They don't know what else to do and it's an emergency to them.”

Interesting statements.

If one employee cannot leave the desk should Wayside not hire another? Have they never heard of cordless phones in the 21st Century? Rest assured Nina and Tim Mosely have cell phones so surely they have heard of them.

Staff at medical shelters are not trained to handle emergencies? Should a shelter that handles those in the direst of straits not be prepared to handle emergencies? Especially non life threatening ones? Does this not alarm us as to the potential for even more problems?

Just what exactly have Tim and Nina Mosely been doing besides raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages to actually hire a staff, train them, and take responsibility. Therein is the rub.

No one is saying there is not a need for places such as Wayside, but to continue misusing the public trust and our tax dollars is a travesty that must be corrected. Especially in these trying times.

Many times, the callers are taken to University of Louisville Hospital’s Emergency Room. They have to treat everyone, because they are reimbursed for indigent care with millions of your tax dollars.

The average cost of an emergency room visit is now more than a thousand dollars. It goes up to $1,500 for patients over the age of 45. The ambulance ride costs around $500.

Wayside is located only about one mile from the hospital.

Looking at the average cost here around $1500 for a one mile trip? What about the return trip?

This is and should be unacceptable to all of us.

For each officer or ambulance that is tied up on non essential runs there are other emergencies they can or should be prepared to respond to. Thousands of hours are wasted when they could be used for other more essential functions.

All costing us millions. What do you tell a taxpaying citizen that calls because an armed robber is in their house and you cannot make the run because you are at Wayside transporting someone who has a sneeze to University Hospital. Is there any way to pull that one off?

Extreme example? Perhaps but one that is a real possibility accordingly.

There are many who call for police, fire, or ambulance services for non emergency situations and Wayside is not alone in this, however, when someone outside Wayside does this they are generally charged for reimbursement or for reporting false alarms. We have accountability in many cases because of such.

Wayside's Nina Moseley reminds us that at no time in the past 25 years has University Hospital or Metro Emergency Medical Services expressed concerns about Wayside overusing ambulance or emergency room services.

Why would they? That would be a publicity nightmare as it would be played out that Metro or University were evil by not helping homeless and others. Would anyone subject themselves to this type of ridicule, well with the exception of people like me who I am sure will be ridiculed because of this article.

No Nina Mosely we simply want you to do your job. Pay taxes like the rest of us do to use these services or pay for them yourself. You accept the responsibility for the care of your patrons by accepting the funding that pays you and your husband quite well accordingly. You are draining needed tax resources without paying even a share of the burden as the rest of us do.

That is not acceptable.

You accept responsibility purely by the nature of what you do.

All we are asking is that you be held accountable to the same standards we taxpayers are. After all $44 million of our money is at stake. We are the investors and we demand accountability.

It really is a simple thing.