Ventura’s Emergency Medical Services Thriving

When the city’s Fire Department was stripped of its ability to provide fast, cheap ambulance services last year, tough questions lingered about reaching an agreement with the company hired to replace Ventura’s paramedics.

But nine months later, city officials and company representatives say an unlikely partnership has developed--one they hope will serve as a statewide model for delivering emergency medical services more efficiently.

“This is not just an issue in Ventura,” said Brian Ranger, operations manager for American Medical Response, a subsidiary of Canadian-based Laidlaw Medical Transportation Inc.

“Statewide, its been a big political issue for fire departments and unions,” he said. “It’s gotten really ugly and gotten away from what’s important, which is patient care.”

By all accounts, what has happened in Ventura is rare.

Last summer, the city’s one-year experiment in providing ambulance services was eliminated and a dozen paramedics laid off after the Board of Supervisors awarded a contract for the Ventura area to American Medical Response.

The decision came on the heels of the state Supreme Court’s declaring counties--not cities--responsible for deciding who will provide emergency services.

After the board’s vote, American Medical Response, which serves most of Ventura County, excluding Oxnard and Ojai, signed a short-term agreement with the city of Ventura.

That pact allowed paramedics on city firetrucks to give first-response medical care, such as CPR and certain other life-saving measures. Meanwhile, American Medical Response ambulances would rush to the scene and transport patients to a hospital.

City firefighters say the arrangement has worked well but add there is room for improvement. They complain American Medical Response does not have enough ambulances in the city to quickly transfer patients to emergency rooms.

“We are left on the scene with patients that need rapid transit,” one firefighter said.

The lease also required the company to share its revenues with the city.

Now, the City Council is being asked to renew the arrangement and to endorse plans for a more long-term relationship in the future.

Under the city’s proposal, American Medical Response would pay Ventura $10,000 a month for first-response paramedic services.

The council is to take up the issue Monday night.

“We have essentially been attempting to build a model that would work in any urban area,” said Deputy City Manager Steve Chase. “We need some time to see if the model can work not only in Ventura but countywide.”

The goal of both the city and the ambulance company is to reduce response times to emergency calls, Chase said.

State guidelines say paramedics should reach the scene of an accident within five to eight minutes, Chase said.

But under a contract recently negotiated between the county and American Medical Response, the ambulance company needs only to respond within 10 minutes, Chase said.

“We really want to elevate patient delivery care,” he said. “And that is a county issue.”

Barbara Brodfuehrer, administrator of the county’s emergency medical services office, said discussions among ambulance companies, city and county officials have only recently begun.

She said any changes to the county’s paramedic services would ultimately be addressed by the Board of Supervisors.

At American Medical Response, Ranger said he is optimistic that negotiations will result in shorter response times and better emergency services for residents countywide.

“This thing could have gone sideways at any time,” he said. “It is coming much closer to fruition.”