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Ambulance services reduced  Calaveras County ambulance services are getting a downgrade due to decreasing revenues and calls for service.

Calaveras County and the Ambulance Issue. Some numbers and comments.

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Whose government are they running?
By Buzz Eggleston Read the article. Leave a comment.

Ambulance service cut draws scrutiny

January 18, 2008

***HOT ISSUE ***

Ambulance/Fire Department
 

Yesterday evening myself, along with county Supervisor Russ Thomas and Chief Toney Powers, attended the regularly scheduled quarterly meeting of the Calaveras County Emergency Medical Services Oversight Committee. We had been informed (unofficially) that the county’s contracted 9-1-1 ambulance provider, American Legion Ambulance, had quietly announced its intention to further reduce ambulance staffing in Calaveras County.

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors is ultimately responsible for the delivery of emergency medical services throughout the county. They contract with Mountain Valley Emergency Medical Services Agency to carry out that responsibility. In 2005 Mountain Valley E.M.S. Agency awarded American Legion Ambulance exclusive rights to transport patients in Calaveras County. The only exception is Ebbetts Pass Fire District, who also provides ambulance service. Copper Fire paramedics provide advanced life support until American Legion Ambulance arrives and assumes responsibility for patient care and transportation. The Calaveras County Emergency Medical Services Oversight Committee keeps an eye on the entire system.

American Legion Ambulance has steadily reduced service levels since they were awarded their five year contract. They presently staff three ambulances 24/7 and two others between the hours of 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. to serve a population of 40,000 spread over 778 square miles. They routinely use one of those units to perform non-emergency inter-facility transfers. On February 16th they will eliminate one of those 12-hour cars and lay-off upwards of nine personnel. They didn’t ask for permission to do that. They simply announced that’s what they’re doing because revenue recently dipped 16%. Supervisor Thomas aptly pointed out that their planned reduction in service was disproportional to their financial concerns.

In my opinion their present staffing level is already marginal. The closest American Legion Ambulance station to Copper is located in Angles Camp, some 15 miles away from the majority of our calls for service. Between December 2006 and December 2007 their average response time to Copper was 21 minutes. Enjoy Lake Tulloch at your own peril because it takes them 25% longer to get there, despite the fact that their contract with Mountain Valley E.M.S. Agency requires them to arrive within 20 minutes. What would be interesting if not so troubling is Mountain Valley requires Ebbets Pass Fire ambulances to arrive within 13 minutes, and they consistently do. Equally troubling is the fact that their intention to further reduce services had to be leaked to the press and was apparently viewed as so insignificant by Mountain Valley that the item was not even on the oversight committee’s business agenda. Clearly their intent was to do this quietly and without any public input.

In my opinion ambulance service in Calaveras County is about to be reduced to a dangerously low level and I think I made that perfectly clear to everyone in the room last night. Representatives of Ebbetts Pass Fire and Foothill Fire also expressed their concerns. The Mountain Valley E.M.S. Agency representative casually suggested that we all give it a few months to determine whether or not we’ll have a problem. The problem is predictable and I’m appalled that Mountain Valley is complacent enough to suggest the collection of data of extended response times, delayed patient care, and perhaps a death or two before they step-up to the plate. They literally suggested we re-visit this several months from now.

Copper Fire is in a much better position than most other fire districts because we have an ambulance in our fleet and employ enough paramedics and staff to transport patients to a hospital if necessary. What we don’t have is Mountain Valley’s permission to do so. Last summer our medics transported a couple of critical patients to helicopter landing zones and Mountain Valley, in the interest of protecting American Legion’s bottom line, threatened to revoke our medic’s certification to practice in Calaveras County. Copper Fire Board of Directors responded by directing our staff to continue to do whatever they felt was in the best interest of the patient and that’s what they did. Only then did we finally reach a cooperative agreement with American Legion and Mountain Valley. Here we go again.

On January 30th Chief Powers is scheduled to meet with a representative of American Legion Ambulance to try work out some sort of an agreement as to what action our staff will take in the likely event of an extended ambulance response time to a call for service in our fire district.

In the meantime, I would like to know how the community feels about this issue and what you think we should do about it. Please feel free to email any comments, questions or concerns to me at manessmail@aol.com I will be sure to share your input with the appropriate decision makers.

Thank you for your continued widespread support.

John Maness, Director

Copper Fire Protection District