By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — At a price tag of $1.7 million, Watauga County has finally joined 94 other North Carolina counties in owning and operating its own ambulance service.
According to a press release received and distributed on June 19, Watauga County has reached an agreement with the current concessionaire, Watauga Medics, Inc., for ambulance services in Watauga County to become a county-operated service. The release adds that at the board’s June 17 meeting, the commissioners approved the purchase of the Watauga Medics, Inc. assets for $1.7 million, including $1 million for the purchase of all ambulances and equipment and $700,000 for the purchase of Medic Base 2, located at 133 Longvue Drive, in Boone, near the Watauga Medical Center.
The action is the culmination of recent discussions with Craig Sullivan, the owner and director of Watauga Medics, Inc., including his expressed desire to retire at the end of his current contract on December 31, 2025. Sullivan served for more than 30 years in the local ambulance business, first as a paramedic and then as the owner of Watauga Medics.
“In evaluating options, Watauga County concluded that there was not an alternative, third-party provider of these services which met the County’s standards of care,” the press release stated.
Many in Watauga County, especially the 65 percent of residents and taxpayers not living within the Boone town limits, have long been critical of the county’s franchised, Boone-centric model because of substandard response times outside of the Boone town limits throughout the county. By moving to a county-owned and operated service, it is anticipated that additional ambulance bases will be established with 24/7/365 crews. One of those bases is likely to be in or near Blowing Rock, whose town leadership has been petitioning the county for an ambulance base since the mid-1970s.
In addition to approving the agreement to purchase all of Watauga Medics, Inc., the Commissioners also established a replacement schedule for the nine ambulance being purchased from Watauga Medics. Over the next six months, the County is expected to:
- Begin advertising for a position to oversee the daily operations of the new service.
- Meet with current Watauga Medics employees, providing information about the transition and opening lines of communication to answer any questions or concerns about the new, county-owned model.
- Begin planning for an expansion of services, including the near-term purchase of at least two new ambulances.
In a phone interview on June 19, Commissioner Todd Castle stated that the board is looking to outsource the billing and collections aspect of the service.
ADDITIONAL READING
For additional insights on the rationale for transitioning to a county-owned EMS service from a private contractor-based service, please read this May 14, 2025, Tomorrow’s Blowing Rock editorial, CLICK “Watauga County: at a Crossroads of Life and Death?”
This Blowing Rock News examination of the ambulance challenges in the county followed the May 6 meeting of the Watauga County commissioners, during which Sullivan announced his wish to retire and asked the board to bless the sale of Watauga Medics to a similar Tennessee company, Priority Ambulance. While the commissioners did not immediately reject the idea of working with a successor for-profit contractor, they have spent the last 30+ days evaluating alternatives, including the transition to a county-owned service. They will work closely with Sullivan and Watauga Medics over the next six months in hopes of achieving a seamless transition.
