Rocky Point ambulance service area faces advisory-physician gap; county, emergency manager mobilize temporary cover

Rocky Point Ambulance has lost its required advising physician, and county officials told the Klamath County Board of Commissioners on July 1 that a temporary fix is in place while they seek a permanent replacement.

Ian Thigpen, Klamath County emergency manager, said state law requires every inch of the county be covered by an ambulance service area and that each service area must have a medical adviser who is a licensed physician. He said Rocky Point — one of 13 ambulance service areas in the county — recently lost its adviser and has struggled to recruit a replacement.

Thigpen said Basin (an ambulance provider) has agreed to place its crews and ambulance in the Rocky Point service area under a mutual-aid contract so Rocky Point will not lose service. That mutual-aid coverage is planned for 90 days while recruitment continues. Thigpen cautioned that the county’s physician adviser “does not want to be the proud owner of Rocky Point Ambulance Service Area,” and described active recruitment of physicians from Medford and elsewhere.

Tom Altman, a representative who identified himself by name during the discussion, encouraged county commissioners to press state officials to revisit policies that make recruitment difficult and to consider regional models for physician advisers. Commissioner Nichols said she would work with emergency management and with Altman to pursue a scope-of-work document outlining the adviser role and follow up with recruiting efforts.

Thigpen and other participants described additional outreach to nearby counties’ advisory committees and to local providers; one board member said she had a local physician who expressed interest but needed clearer criteria. Commissioners asked emergency management to compile a succinct scope of work and advised Thigpen and Nichols to continue coordinating. If legal or districting issues arise, they said they would bring the matter back to the board.

The temporary mutual-aid cover, recruitment outreach to other counties, and a promise to return to the board if there are legal complications were the primary near-term outcomes of the discussion. Commissioners and emergency management said they expect to have status updates within days to weeks as interviews with prospective physician advisers proceed.

Ending: County officials said they will track the 90-day mutual-aid period and return to the board if the interim coverage proves insufficient or if legal issues require formal direction.