In a desperate bid to quickly address the shortage of ambulances, Portland's interim Fire Chief Ryan Gillespie has added his voice to the chorus of officials demanding action from Multnomah County. Gillespie, in his letter dated Jan. 23 to county health authorities, pointed out the perilous state of emergency services, saying, "The shortage of ambulances is putting the community's lives in jeopardy and it is also putting our firefighters' lives in danger," according to The Oregonian.
At the heart of the controversy is the county's unique staffing requirement for its ambulance service contractor, American Medical Response (AMR), to have two paramedics per ambulance. Gillespie, alongside Multnomah County Commissioner and ER doctor Sharon Meieran, has been vocally supporting a shift to staff ambulances with one EMT and one paramedic instead. The present model has been criticized for significantly lowering the number of vehicles available to respond to emergencies. Gillespie's insistence comes amid a backdrop where ambulances have to sometimes reach patients within eight minutes, a target that is presently achieved only 60% of the time, as KOIN reported.
This push for staffing changes has been met with resistance from county health officials who argue that the double paramedic requirement has contributed to one of the highest cardiac arrest survival rates in the nation. However, a recent snowstorm exemplified the dangers of the current system when a firefighter sustained several injuries on duty and no ambulance was immediately available to provide transportation, leading to firefighters having to transport their colleague themselves, a situation Gillespie called "extremely unsafe," as reported by The Oregonian.
Instances of the system's failures have been startling. During New Year's Eve, firefighters were forced to collaborate with TriMet staff to transport a person with chest pains to the hospital on a bus when no ambulances were available, a status known as "Level 0." The man's life hung precariously in the balance, and while the TriMet driver Joe Wiggins received praise for his part in the transport at a subsequent board meeting, the incident underscored the potential for tragedy under the current constraints. Gillespie has called for an immediate solution, reiterating the unacceptable risk to both patients and firefighters in his letter to county officials, which was echoed by news coverage from KATU.
With the fine of over $500,000 levied against AMR in November for failing to meet response time obligations, the gravity of the situation is undeniably clear. As deliberations continue, Multnomah County faces the pressing need to pivot strategies to ensure the timely delivery of essential emergency services and safeguard the health and safety of its residents. The question remains whether officials will heed the calls to adapt and overcome the dangerous shortfall in a system stretched to its limits.
.jpg){kind=link}