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Health Services Department recommending the Board review the structure of delivery of ambulance transport services in County Service Area No. 7 and determine if changes should be made including but not limited to whether an exclusive operating area for ambulance transport services should be established. (Est. time: 30 min.)
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Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: There is no Net County Cost associated with establishing an exclusive operating area in County Service Area #7.
Background: On December 14, 1999, following extensive review of the ambulance transport system structure within the County, the Board directed staff in Public Health to take appropriate steps to establish an exclusive operating area for 911 ambulance transport services in County Service Area (CSA) #3 and to leave CSA #7 as a non-exclusive area. Over the past decade, there have been discussions with the Board regarding the benefits and the disadvantages of the current approach.
The County is tasked with the obligation to establish an organized and efficient Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response system that assures reasonable countywide response time reliability, clinical competence and financial performance. It is also imperative for the County to assure that the operational, clinical and economic advantages of the current system are not lost to fragmentation of the market.
The history of ambulance transport services is provided in the Board report accompanying this item. Currently, the County is the provider of ambulance services under a public utility model. However, because CSA #7 is a non-exclusive operating area for all services, inclusive of Advanced Life Support (ALS) service, critical-care transports, and inter-facility transports, a third party provider may apply to contract with the County to furnish any or all of those services within the CSA #7 boundaries. The purpose of this agenda item is to discuss whether the Board desires to alter or change that cu...
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