Residents Will Be Hurt by Ambulance Privatization

Re “City Ambulance Service Returned to Private Firm,” July 23.

For 2 1/2 years, I worked as a paramedic for all three private enterprise ambulance companies that bought their way into Ventura city to turn a profit. I also worked for the Ventura city Fire Department as a paramedic during the one year it had its paramedic program in existence. I cannot begin to tell you how much trouble the city and its residents are in.

I was present at the Board of Supervisors hearing July 22 and spoke passionately about the reality of how the private companies work. No one seemed to listen. The only reasoning I kept hearing from the board was that our Emergency Medical Services System had worked for almost 30 years and could continue to work now that they are voting the Fire Department out.

Just because something works doesn’t mean it cannot be improved! Do those supervisors still go to work in horse-drawn carriages? Do they send their mail by Pony Express? Do they have rotary phones with switchboard operators? I don’t think so.

The reason is because even though these things once worked, we as humans have found ways to do it better, cheaper and faster. Which is exactly what Ventura city fire had done with paramedic services, but now the supervisors have voted it away.

The reality, for those uninformed about what is about to happen to them, is this. As a private paramedic, I did non-paramedic-level transports from hospital to home or convalescent facilities, or took people to events such as radiation therapy. In both cases, I was tied up for long periods of time, often far more than an hour.

If a 911 call came in for someone one block away, I was not allowed to respond even though I had full paramedic life-saving capability. I had to sit in the lobby of the hospital or radiation center until my patient was done. This was so we could bill the patient for waiting time.

Residents may also be interested to know that I was often sent to USC or UCLA hospitals on five- to seven-hour transfers where I would be out of the city for most of an afternoon or evening.

What is most disturbing is that the supervisors seemed bitter that the city of Ventura took matters into its own hands last year, much to the benefit and safety of its residents. Now the Board of Supervisors has the chance for revenge. They are taking it with closed fists.

The sad part is that the Fire Department will not suffer. The true losers are the residents of Ventura.

Take it from someone who has worked on both sides of the fence as a paramedic. Please know the truth of what you will now face. The Fire Department had a great program going.

I keep my fingers crossed for all of us who live in Ventura now. What the board has done is an outrage! They have voted to decrease the size and quality of the system that is in place to help us when we are helpless. The only two things they have increased is the number at the bottom of the ambulance bill and the amount of time it will take the ambulance to get to you when you need it the most.

Thank you, Ventura County Board of Supervisors. We, the residents of Ventura, now know where we stand on your list of priorities.

DAVID M. ENDAYA

Ventura

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* On July 22, three of our five county supervisors failed to find the courage to challenge the intimidating tactics of a giant named Laidlaw.

Three supervisors voted to take a giant step backward in the paramedic service and emergency transportation for the people in the city of Ventura.

Supervisor Judy Mikels offended the many people attending this meeting by stating that they were being overly dramatic and showboating. What right do you, Supervisor Mikels, have to make such a judgment? Private citizens came forward in gratitude and support for a system that better served their welfare. Men and women who daily face the challenge of serving this community came forward with their plea to you to allow them to continue a better standard of pre-hospital care.

Firefighters and paramedics are placed in jeopardy each time they respond to an emergency. It is the nature of their job that requires this and yet it is their willingness to place themselves in an unsafe situation that provides a unique service to us, as citizens. Therefore it is with appreciation I thank Supervisors John Flynn and Susan Lacey for their willingness to step out and challenge the giant.

DENETTE KELLNER

Ventura