(KTEN) — Emergency medical services are changing in northeastern Grayson County following dissatisfaction with a private EMS service.

County commissioners moved to approve a new contract with Whitewright EMS on Tuesday to cover a portion of the county which had been served by Texas Vital Care since late 2021.

Whitewright EMS already serves the southeastern portion of Grayson County. Now, they'll cover an area stretching from around Tom Bean to the Red River.

County leaders said they were concerned that Texas Vital Care would not be able to keep up with the demand in the large, rural portion of Grayson County.

"We feel like we've got to do a good job subsidizing the rural care in that area, the rural emergency services," Grayson County Precinct 2 Commissioner Art Arthur said. Precinct 2 encompasses the area Whitewright EMS serves.

While concern about TVC's ability to serve the county was part of the decision, Grayson County Emergency Management director Sarah Somers is also taking future growth into account.

"A bigger issue is that EMS services across Grayson County are very stressed these days," she said. "When we have growth, there's some good news with that, and then there's other news, which is we've got to get our services to keep up with the need."

As part of this agreement, Grayson County is increasing the subsidies it provides to Whitewright EMS.

"What they needed was help in funding," Arthur said. "They had the ambulance, which is a tremendous asset, but they needed help in putting adequate equipment, and obviously we've got manpower now involved. So we're subsidizing that."

The contract goes into effect in the beginning of April.