Con Fire marks EMS Week and outlines ambulance, nurse-navigation and staffing plans

Contra Costa County Fire Protection District recognized National Emergency Medical Services Week at its May 20 meeting and outlined ongoing operational priorities for the district's EMS system.

Battalion Chief Jesse Ingram, the district's recently promoted battalion chief of EMS, told the board the district and its alliance partner, American Medical Response, oversee an integrated ambulance and EMS system that handles the bulk of the county's emergency calls. "Emergency medical services are a critical part of the community's public safety system," Ingram said, describing district personnel and contractors who respond to cardiac arrests, major trauma and other urgent calls.

Ingram reported last calendar year the district's firefighters and paramedics responded to more than 100,000 calls for fire and medical emergencies; the district's emergency ambulance program was involved in over 80,000 ambulance transports and nearly 30,000 ambulance-only responses. The alliance with American Medical Response (AMR) has helped reduce response and on-scene times, Ingram said.

Chad Newland, regional director for American Medical Response in Contra Costa County, joined the presentation and thanked the board for support. The chiefs and AMR representatives also described operational changes planned this summer: a nurse navigation program is scheduled to begin in mid-June to route appropriate non-emergency 911 calls to alternative care and support, and a deployment of Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances in West County will coincide with the annexation of Rodeo Hercules on July 1. The BLS units, staffed by two emergency medical technicians, are intended to relieve pressure on advanced life support ambulances for non-emergency calls.

The district also highlighted a consent-item renewal of its agreement with the City of San Pablo to fund roughly $1,900,000 next fiscal year for staffing two personnel at Fire Station 70. The funding traces to San Pablo's special tax measure K and general fund contributions, the chief said.

Faye Nye, introduced at the meeting as the district's new chief of administration (working title: chief financial officer), will oversee fiscal operations including the ambulance transport operation, the chief said.

Board members thanked EMS personnel and AMR for their service during the presentation. No formal board action was required on the EMS presentation itself; related contractual and funding items appeared on the consent calendar that the board approved earlier in the meeting.