Photo from the Yankton Convention and Visitor's Bureau website

INTER-FACILITY TRANSFER GUIDELINES

While the primary responsibility of Yankton County EMS is responding to 911 calls in our service area, we also provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) or Basic Life Support (BLS) inter-facility patient transfers on an as-available basis. Here are the general guidelines for requesting a transfer:

1. YCEMS will transfer patients from health care facilities in Yankton to larger facilities in Sioux Falls or Sioux City on a case-by-case basis. Any transfer request may be declined or postponed according to staff availability, current call volume, fatigue guidelines, or other factors.
2. YCEMS may transfer patients from health care facilities in Yankton to larger facilities in Omaha, Nebraska if no other transport service is available and as long as the patient is picked between 7:00 AM and 1:00 PM. This is also dependent on staff availability and current call volume. We do not transport to Omaha between 1:00 PM and 7:00 AM the next day.
3. YCEMS may transfer patients from smaller health care facilities in nearby communities to Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton 24 hours a day if the originating community's ambulance is not available or cannot provide the appropriate level of care and if another transfer service is not available. Any transfer request may be declined or postponed according to staff availability, current call volume, fatigue guidelines, or other factors.
4. ​YCEMS does not transfer any patient farther than a 150 mile radius from Yankton. This eliminates transfers to cities such as Lincoln NE, Rochester MN or Minneapolis MN. There are local ambulance transfer services that will accommodate long distance transfers.
5. YCEMS does not transfer any patient from any health care facility in a nearby community to any destination other than Avera Sacred Heart Hospital.
6. YCEMS does not send out more than one transfer crew at a time. If we have an ambulance on a transfer and your facility requests another transfer, your facility will have to contact another ambulance service or wait until our crew returns to service.

Note: Our ambulance crews work 12 hour shifts, changing at 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM. If your facility calls for a transfer within a reasonable time of shift change, your transfer may be delayed until the next crew arrives. This helps reduce crew fatigue and avoids overtime.

Here are the instructions for setting up an ambulance transfer, once your facility has determined that a transfer is necessary:

1. Call the YCEMS office at (605) 668-9033, option #5, after you have made arrangements for the patient to be accepted at another facility. There is no need to call early for a "heads up". We will transfer the patient when we have a crew available but 911 calls will always take priority. If there is no answer at our office, your call will automatically be forwarded to the Yankton Police Department 24-hour dispatch center. You can advise them that you need to contact the ambulance for a transfer. Dispatch will relay the message and you will receive a call back when the crew is available.​
2. Once the crew arrives at your facility, they will need a signature for the electronic Provider's Certification Statement (PCS), as well as a patient face sheet, medication list and medical history all printed for our records.

Note: YCEMS does not own or carry IV infusion pumps. If your patient is on an IV infusion of any medication, your facility's infusion pump will have to be sent with the patient on the transfer.