I've been contemplating a blog and I finally had the morning that pushed me over the edge.
The City of Stockton California was forced to pull all of their Paramedic equipment off of their fire engines today. The reason, not budget, not lack of paramedics, but because San Joaquin County (where Stockton resides) has control over the EMS program for the entire county and decided 4 years ago to go with the private American Medical Response (AMR.) The contract(s) along the line, between the city and the county, the county and AMR, and theoretically the county and the state have somehow overridden all common sense. A County Superior Court Judge has ruled that the County has control of the EMS system and they've contracted with AMR and therefore the Fire Department cannot provide Advanced Live Support services because they are not the designated provider for the county.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!
We aren't talking about the city and county trying to save money, no mention of that in any report I can find. We aren't talking about a lack of professional conduct from the Fire Department Paramedics, their integrity doesn't seem to be in question. Sooooo this is Politics. Right? I mean, what else could it be? The mission of any paramedic, private or publicly paid, should be to save lives. So why would the Stockton Fire Department and AMR be fighting. Of course there is always the macho one upsmanship that happens in any "Hero" situation, I'm sure some of that comes into play. It's very evident on several discussion boards (that I of course can't find the links to now) that some of that comes into play, but it shouldn't for the politicians that make these decisions.
1. The paramedics are already trained and part of the fire crews.
2. The equipment has already been purchased and budgeted for the future.
3. Yes, the Firemen with Paramedic certification do get a bump in pay.
4. The city has not complained about the budget.
5. AMR was given all transportation duties of the injured shortly after the contract was put in place, so they still get to bill for every call.
6. 73% of 911 calls where the Fire Department is dispatched, the Fire Engine arrives before the ambulance.
Shouldn't this be about saving lives and not about AMR's bottom line. That is the purpose of the Emergency Medical Service that the county is supposed to provide, saving lives. So what if someone else spends different money on the same issue. Are we not gonna donate to cancer research because someone we don't like gave money as well?
Wow -- privatized paramedics? Unfortunately this is the kind of thing that probably won't be resolved until someone sues for lack of care because the FD arrived in time to save a life and the AMR didn't. Privatizing vital services like this bugs the crap out of me -- call me a socialist, but there are certain things I most definitely want my taxes to pay for, and making sure WHOMEVER arrives first at an emergency scene has the training and material to save lives is one of them.
ReplyDelete