City of Santa Monica assumes control of 911 ambulance service, plans to reinvest reimbursements
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Summary
City of Santa Monica officials said the fire department transitioned ambulance transport in-house after a pilot program, assigning ambulances to each fire station and planning to reinvest transport reimbursements into training, equipment and hiring.
The City of Santa Monica has moved its 911 ambulance transport under the direct control of the fire department, staff said, and plans to reinvest ambulance reimbursement revenue back into training, equipment and hiring.
Patrick Nolte, the emergency medical services battalion chief for the Santa Monica Fire Department, said the Ambulance Operator (AO) program began as a pilot in September with two units and "As of February 1, the city and the fire department have assumed full control providing all of the ambulance transportation for all of our emergency medical patients on all 911 calls." He described the shift as an operational consolidation that allows the department to "integrate it seamlessly with our dispatching, with our paramedics."
Nolte said the AO program assigns a dedicated ambulance to each fire station so that a 911 call is served by both "the closest fire engine" and "the closest ambulance." He characterized the new model as "one cohesive response unit" and said it improves patient care and outcomes. "Response times greatly improved," he said; the transcript contains that claim but does not include supporting performance data.
On funding, Nolte said that "all of the reimbursement that comes with ambulance transportation is now able to be reinvested back into the program to further enhance training, equipment, and the hiring of additional personnel." He described reimbursement as the program's source for future training, equipment purchases and personnel growth; the precise dollar amounts and budget timeline were not specified in the remarks.
Two ambulance operators who spoke described their experience under the AO program. "I'm David McGill. I'm an ambulance operator for the city of Santa Monica," McGill said, identifying himself as a "fifth generation city employee here in Santa Monica" whose family has served the city for more than 75 years. Tommy Cantrell, a newly certified EMT and ambulance operator, said, "Being a part of the Santa Monica Fire Department AO program has been amazing" and called ambulance work "great experience if you wanna get into EMS or being a firefighter."
City staff framed the program as operational and financial consolidation rather than a policy change requiring council action; the transcript records description and staff testimony but no formal vote or ordinance. Officials offered specific dates for milestones (pilot start in September, full assumption of service Feb. 1) and operational claims (dedicated ambulances at each station, improved response times) but provided no quantitative performance data or budget figures in these remarks. The department said reimbursements will be reinvested to expand training, equipment and hiring.
