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Council considers amending ambulance code and dissolving MSOA; fire chief says service unchanged
Summary
Council heard a presentation on revisions to the ambulance transportation code that remove outdated language and dissolve the nonprofit Medical Services Oversight Authority (MSOA) in favor of a city advisory board; presenters said medical direction and patient care quality assurance will continue under department oversight.
City Law Department and Lincoln Fire and Rescue briefed the City Council July 14 on an ordinance package to update the city’s ambulance transportation code, remove outdated procedures and dissolve the Medical Services Oversight Authority (MSOA) as a nonprofit corporation.
Chris Connelly, City Law Department, and Fire Chief Dave Engler explained the proposal’s two primary elements: updating code language related to ambulance service providers and disbanding MSOA to replace it with an advisory board more closely integrated with the Fire Department.
Engler said Lincoln Fire and Rescue began ambulance transport responsibilities in February 2001 and that the role of MSOA — originally formed to provide medical direction and quality oversight — has changed. He told the council MSOA board members “were predominantly supportive of the dissolution of the current form,” and said the department will retain a medical director and continue quality assurance and quality‑improvement activities in‑house.
Connelly described the statutory dissolution process required for nonprofit corporations, including Attorney General review of a dissolution plan and ensuring debts and accounts are settled. He said the change should reduce administrative cost and not affect patient service: “none of this affects service to the community,” Connelly said, and medical direction “will be the same.”
Council members asked about accreditation and board composition. Chief Engler confirmed Lincoln Fire and Rescue is an accredited department and described the new advisory board as intended to include representatives from local healthcare organizations and clinicians with specialties such as pediatrics to help build protocols and coordinate hospital rotations.
No public commenters spoke on the item in the provided transcript. The transcript records the presentation and council follow‑up questions; a final vote on the ordinance amendments and the MSOA dissolution is not included in the excerpt.
