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Rocky Point Fire chief tells commissioners he is still searching for a physician adviser; worries about ambulance coverage
Summary
David Carpenter, chief of Rocky Point Fire and EMS, told the Klamath County Board on Aug. 5 he has spent two months trying to secure a physician adviser for his ambulance service and said delays may jeopardize local ambulance coverage and patient outcomes.
David Carpenter, chief of Rocky Point Fire and EMS, told the Klamath County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 5 that he has spent two months attempting to find a physician adviser for his service and remains “basically still at square 1.”
Carpenter said he has reached out beyond Klamath County, including to Jackson County, and is awaiting a response from Deschutes County. He told the board physicians in the county “don’t wanna do it,” and described the search as “kind of frustrating.” Carpenter recounted a recent emergency in which he said a patient “had to wait for an hour” for another ambulance and added, “I don't think they would have made it.”
Carpenter told commissioners he has a contact — Tom Augman — who “left you a message” and that Augman “has a good solution” to the physician-adviser issue; Carpenter asked the board to have staff follow up. The chair responded on the record that staff would take Carpenter’s contact information.
Carpenter’s remarks occurred during the public-comment portion of the meeting. The board did not conduct a question-and-answer exchange during the public-comment period, and no formal action related to ambulance staffing or physician advisers was recorded in the meeting minutes or transcript.
Ending: Carpenter emphasized the potential impact on residents if ambulance coverage worsens and urged timely follow-up from county staff and commissioners.
