Local government officials and Vidant Health officials met Thursday in an effort to clarify the future of health-care services provided in the Belhaven area and Hyde County.

The meeting produced some offers from Vidant Health to help with EMS coverage in the Belhaven area and Hyde County.

The meeting was sought by the government officials who wanted to discuss Vidant Health’s decision to close Vidant Pungo Hospital and replace it with a new around-the-clock multispecialty clinic. Vidant Health announced in early September the Belhaven hospital would close in five to six months.

Elected officials in Beaufort and Hyde counties and Belhaven, along with residents in the two counties and town, have expressed concerns about the quality of health care they will be provided when the hospital closes and before the new clinic opens. Once construction begins on the clinic, it will take about 18 months to complete.

The Vidant Health Foundation will provide up to $250,000 for the purchase of a new medical emergency transport vehicle to enhance emergency coverage across Hyde County, according to a Vidant Health news release.

Another alternative to enhance EMS coverage in Beaufort and Hyde counties was also discussed. Vidant Health, through its foundation, offered to provide one-time grants to each of the counties to improve the access to care. The foundation will provide up to $500,000 to help Beaufort County provide paramedic-level emergency services, according to Vidant Health. This service level allows treatment to begin when emergency personnel arrive on the scene.

Paramedics may administer medication and deliver higher levels of emergency care at the scene.

“Should the option be accepted by the counties, Vidant Health will continue to offer patients clot-busting drugs for heart attacks and stabilization for transport to higher levels of care for 18 months while Beaufort County increases level of EMS service from intermediate to paramedic,” reads the release. “After 18 months, these services would be provided by county EMS personnel, not at the multispecialty clinic in Belhaven.”

John Pack, Beaufort County’s emergency-services director, considers the $500,000 grant from Vidant Health as “seed money” to help bring paramedic-level EMS coverage to Beaufort County. Pack attended Thursday’s meeting.

“We are now in a position, based on what they told us, to better plan for the closing of the hospital emergency room. They gave us a tentative date. Therefore, I can start planning now what we’re going to have to do to add additional EMS coverage in that area to support the long transports to Vidant Beaufort (Hospital),” Pack said.

Vidant Health plans to close the Vidant Pungo Hospital emergency room in March 2014, Pack said.

“The more information they continue to fee us, the better we can plan. They also clarified what’s going to be in the clinic. So we now know they’re going to have the capability to treat a heart attack there and stabilize the patient. They’re going to be able to stabilize the patient for more transport,” Pack said. “That’s information that’s helpful to us. We do know now that all three other main trauma areas will continue to treat in the ways we would, It gives us planning points. That’s the bottom line. We know what capabilities are in the clinic. We have a tentative date when they’re going to shut down the emergency room. All that information we needed before we walked into that meeting. They were forthcoming enough to give us that type of information.”

After the meeting, Dr. David Herman, Vidant Health’s CEO and president, said, “Vidant Health is committed to working with local leaders to enhance the quality of care to Beaufort and Hyde counties. We must seek sustainable and affordable solutions for health care delivery.”

Vidant Health plans to move forward with the construction of a new 24/7 state-of-the art multispecialty care clinic with more than 10,000 square feet in or near Belhaven. Once the hospital closes, patients will receive care 24 hours a day, seven days a week at Vidant Family Medicine-Belhaven located on Haslin St.  Services will also be available at the other physician practices located on Allen St. and Water St.