(KAIR)--The Atchison County Commission has received more information regarding the possible new location for the county EMS service.

Commissioners met Tuesday to gather input from the public and key county officials on the proposed move.

Commission Chair Jeff Schuele says some of that input came from EMS personnel, who told Commissioners they felt as though patient care would not be effected with the change. He says “the reasoning was is that they expect first responders to beat them to the scene. I really think we are fortunate here in Atchison County that we have a pretty good first response team in the western district as well as the eastern district and the city of Atchison. I think still the concern is...the response time. Minutes and seconds do count for lives. Like anything, there is no guarantee that a first responder can get there in time, so its really about who the person is, how they get handled on scene, sometimes before the first responders.”

Atchison City Manager Trey Cocking was present at the meeting, and he raised the possibility of having county services merged with city services. He says “we have had conversations about whether it's possible to look at merging the Fire Department and EMS in the future....haven't had anything real in depth, and haven't put pencil to paper yet. It's a thought that we want to explore to see if there is a cost savings to the community by making that move. Prior to 1995, we housed both EMS and Fire at it's current location, so we believe we can do that again.”

Schuele says a merger is another option, but officials from both the city and county would have to meet and plan out the specifics if it were to take place.

The Commission decided to table further discussion on the issue until Commissioner Bill Pohl, who was not present due to illness, is able to offer his input.