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San Francisco fire chief warns EMS system strained as city growth drives medical calls
Summary
Fire Chief Joanna Hayes White told the Board of Supervisors’ Budget & Finance Committee that population growth and rising medical-call volume are straining the San Francisco Fire Department’s EMS and suppression resources; the department seeks continued funding for ambulances, staffing and facility upgrades and urged fleet replacement to meet safety and response standards.
Fire Chief Joanna Hayes White told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Budget & Finance Committee on April 20 that population growth and a sharp rise in medical calls have put "strain on the EMS system" and on fire suppression resources.
White said medical calls have driven most of the increase in overall call volume and projected an increase "of more than 12% over the past two years" in medical calls. "What this has meant ... is that there's a strain on the EMS system both on the ambulance side as well as on the suppression side," she said.
The department described several existing and planned responses. White said the Fire Department has reimplemented a program with two dedicated rescue captain-paramedics who work with the Department of Public Health to redirect 911 callers to more appropriate services when possible. The department has also added ambulances and created a per-diem paramedic classification, patterned…
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