Just days after the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services issued an emergency administrative regulation that threw a barrier in front of TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital’s plan to establish an ambulance service in Warren County, Med Center Health is asking that Greenview’s certificate of need application be dismissed.

Med Center Health, which operates the Med Center EMS ambulance service that serves Warren County, filed a motion for summary judgment asking the CHFS to dismiss the Greenview certificate of need application because it no longer qualifies for the “nonsubstantive” review that was the basis for the application.

Greenview applied for the certificate of need in September 2018 after the CHFS issued an emergency regulation that allowed Greenview to submit it under a nonsubstantive process that essentially “fast-tracks” the process and places the burden of proof on the existing ambulance provider.

The CHFS under then-Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration used the findings of a study done by the Louisville-based Pegasus Institute think tank to justify the use of a nonsubstantive process. The Pegasus study indicated Warren County was underserved by a single ambulance provider and was facing a “public health crisis.”

The emergency regulation issued Jan. 2 by new Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration disputed the Pegasus Institute’s findings, saying “there is not a lack of access or issue with patient choice” in Warren County and calling for a formal review in which the applicant must prove its case for being granted a certificate of need.

Med Center Health Executive Vice President Wade Stone, in a Wednesday email, explained his company’s reasoning in asking for a dismissal.

Stone issued this statement: “Med Center Health maintains that Greenview’s application no longer qualifies for nonsubstantive review, a means of fast-tracking approval for particular applications. Ambulance service applications have historically undergone formal review until the Bevin administration created an unwarranted exception … for Warren County.

“The Beshear administration reversed that exception this past Thursday through its own emergency regulation. We commend Gov. Beshear for recognizing that there is not a public health crisis related to ambulance service in Warren County.

“Med Center Health looks forward to putting this needless distraction behind us so that we can continue our focus on providing outstanding ambulance service to our community.”

Greenview CEO Mike Sherrod has maintained throughout the process that there are gaps in the service provided by Med Center EMS. His statement in September said Greenview’s proposed ambulance service would “fill a critical gap in access to care.”

Greenview, owned by Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, isn’t abandoning its effort to establish an ambulance service.

Andria McGregor, the hospital’s marketing and communications specialist, said Wednesday evening that Greenview filed its own motion with the CHFS for summary judgment that its certificate of need application does qualify for a hearing.

“TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital remains committed to providing Warren County residents with a choice in emergency services,” McGregor said in an email.

Her statement continued: “Bowling Green is one of the fastest-growing cities in Kentucky, yet it has only one existing ambulance provider. A choice in ambulance service remains an issue for our community and state, and we hope to find a solution to ensure that all patients have timely access to the care they deserve.”

Med Center Health’s Stone said he did not know when the CHFS would rule on the motions. The two hospitals were scheduled for a hearing on Greenview’s certificate of need application the week of Jan. 27, but that was before the latest emergency regulation negated the nonsubstantive review that was the basis for that hearing.