Rich Civic Times
RANDOLPH, Utah. November 5, 2014. Randall Knight, Garden City Fire Board, gave the Commission
the names of two volunteers for the new fire board opening. The Commissioners nominated Jenny England for
a four year appointment to the Garden City Fire District.
Knight asked about the ambulance situation with Cache County
and Rich County. Last month a person was
trapped in a vehicle for an hour in the Cache Forest while they waited for the
ambulance to come from Logan. If the
ambulance from Garden City had been called it would have taken 10 minutes.
“There is a MOU existing,” said Bill Cox, “signed 5 years
ago.”
“That information was not passed on to the Laketown
dispatcher,” said Randall. “So they
followed their policies and procedures and called Cache County.”
Knight said, “we need
to use common sense. Is there an obvious
time boundary so that the ambulance could go to the closest response point?” Kim Wilson, EMT, said, “we cannot respond in
Cache County because they are a paramedic service and Rich County is not. They also do not like to give up the revenues
from their ambulance which costs more."
Knight said that we should not put revenue before saving lives.
Sheriff Dale Stacey said that Cache County has to invite the
Rich County ambulance into Cache County and right now they do not like to do
that. Rich County cannot send in an
ambulance legally without that invitation.
“We have to work with the Sheriff and bring Cache County
public safety people in,” said Cox.
Knight asked if the meeting would be set up. Cox said he would have the Sheriff come to
talk with the board.
“Right now there is
no legal impediment,” he said.
1 comment:
I wish I would have known this was going to be discussed. I appreciate Randall asking these important questions. This report sounds really confusing though. The Sheriff is quoted as saying we "cannot send in an ambulance legally without that invitation" and Commissioner Cox is quoted as saying "Right now there is no legal impediment." So which is it? And does Rich EMS know what it can or cannot legally do. I am really concerned about this issue and want to help see it resolved.
I am sure there is a lot I don't understand, so I want to be careful when I say that I want to see the closest EMS team respond to calls. I've tried doing some research on the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (BEMS)website (https://health.utah.gov/ems/rulereg/). It states a "unit may only provide service in its specific geographical service area except as provided by R426-3-800 Aid Agreements." This brings up a few questions:
What is the Rich EMS geographical service area? I am guessing it is only Rich County. If so, can we apply to have that service area changed to include a portion of Logan Canyon? My guess is this would be difficult to get changed, but if the BEMS mission (as stated on its website) is to "reduce morbidity and mortality through...quality intervention" then this is the change that should be made. Or at the least there should be a MOU that our 911 dispatch is aware of that allows Rich EMS to respond to emergencies that are 10 miles into Logan Canyon.
The fact stands that there IS a problem that needs to be fixed. I'm sure most of the problem is on the Cache County side. But as a concerned citizen I am will to help push for change and a fix of this problem. I will be submitting a letter to our commissioners and also the Bureau of EMS and Preparedness. Anyone else concerned could share your concern as well. Write to them at:
Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness
Utah Department of Health
PO Box 142004
Salt Lake City UT 84114-2004
Lastly, I want to personally thank the volunteer EMS personnel we have in this county. They definitely are one of the most under-appreciated organizations in this county!
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