Monthlong Paramedic Agreement OKd

Paramedics will continue to provide first-response medical care on city firetrucks for the next month under an agreement approved Monday night by the City Council.

The temporary agreement will allow city firefighters who are trained as paramedics to continue performing life-saving measures such as CPR on victims before a privately owned ambulance company arrives on scene.

Under the agreement, American Medical Response will pay the city $10,000 to cover the monthly cost of 13 firefighter-paramedics working on four city fire engines.

Meanwhile, talks among the city, county and American Medical continue on a long-term pact that could reach the council by the end of May.

Although firefighters are usually the first to arrive at the scene of an accident or other emergency, Ventura was forced to drop a popular, year-old municipal ambulance service last summer. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors, fearing a lawsuit, awarded the contract for ambulance service in the city to American Medical Response.

The supervisors’ decision followed a landmark state Supreme Court ruling that said counties, not cities, should decide who provides pre-hospital emergency services.

Still, city officials have been determined to continue reducing response times, which were cut by an average of two minutes under the city-run ambulance service. The city’s service also resulted in ambulance bills that were 40% cheaper for residents.

Ventura also has joined a coalition of California cities and fire chiefs backing new state legislation that would allow cities to run their own ambulance services. Ventura Mayor Jim Friedman and Fire Chief Dennis Downs are in Sacramento today, scheduled to speak in support of AB 2586.