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Council approves UF Health-backed mobile stroke unit lease for Jacksonville Fire Rescue
Summary
The council approved a one-year lease, for $1 per year, of a UF Health–purchased mobile stroke unit that will be based at Fire Station 64. UF Health will fund much of the equipment and staff costs; the city will cover fuel, maintenance and stationing costs and budgeted funding for seven JFRD positions.
Jacksonville City Council's Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee approved item 20 25 0237 on April 14, authorizing the city to accept and lease a UF Health–owned mobile stroke unit to Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department (JFRD).
The measure, approved as amended by an 8-0 vote, authorizes the city to lease the specialized ambulance for $1 per year, house it at Fire Station 64 and staff it with seven city-funded JFRD positions. UF Health purchased the unit and provided a state grant to fund the CT scanner, clinical staffing costs for UF personnel and stroke-related medications, Chief Keith Powers told the committee.
The unit contains a 16-slice CT scanner and equipment to stream images live to a neurologist at UF Health who will read scans in real time, Powers said. The unit will carry two critical care paramedics, a neurologic nurse and a CT technologist. "This unit's going to have a mobile CT in the back of it ... it can scan someone's brain to determine what kind of stroke they're having," Powers said, describing how the on-call neurologist can direct treatment remotely.
Powers said UF Health secured grants to put similar units in Alachua County and The Villages and to fund the staffing model; UF Health will reimburse the city roughly $71,000 per month toward personnel costs and will supply stroke medications and the vehicle. The city's budget includes roughly $855,000 to cover a full year of salaries and benefits for the seven JFRD employees assigned to the unit; the cost is being budgeted so positions can be filled immediately. The city will be responsible for fuel, routine maintenance and housing the vehicle.
Committee members asked about operational coverage and equity. Powers said the vehicle's initial response area will focus on the northwest quadrant of Duval County — roughly from I-10 north to the county line, and from the St. Johns River west — chosen after heat-mapping stroke incidents. If dispatched, the unit may intercept other ambulances en route to hospitals to perform CT scanning and begin definitive stroke therapy, he said.
Council members and the committee praised the technology's potential to save lives and urged faster expansion to other quadrants. Powers said UF Health's agreement is three years with one-year renewals and that the aim is to prove the concept before adding more units. The committee approved the amended bill by voice vote; the clerk recorded "8 yeas, 0 nays."
