Board appoints Joseph McDonald to Emergency Medical Care Committee; discussion highlights need for South County representation

The Inyo County Board of Supervisors appointed Joseph McDonald to the Emergency Medical Care Committee (EMCC) on May 27 to fill a member-at-large seat previously held by a Lone Pine chief.

Health and Human Services Director Anna Scott told the board the EMCC is an advisory group that includes representatives from local fire departments, hospitals, ambulance providers and at-large members. The county received two letters of interest: one from Bishop City Council member Karen Kong and one from Joseph McDonald of Lone Pine. Scott said the EMCC voted at its May meeting to recommend Karen Kong, in part to reflect City of Bishop engagement on ambulance-operating-area issues; the EMCC also expressed a desire to maintain north–south geographic balance on the committee.

During board discussion supervisors said they value Bishop’s participation and also wanted sustained South County representation. Supervisor remarks noted Joseph McDonald’s law-enforcement background, incident-command experience and residency in the south end of the county — attributes board members said would be valuable as the county processes ambulance-operating-area and EMS operational issues.

Following a motion, the board appointed Joseph McDonald to the member-at-large seat. The board asked that city and tribal partners continue to attend EMCC meetings; SCOTT said outreach to Southern Inyo Hospital and tribal representatives is ongoing.