5705169 Resolution 21-246, Emergency Medical Services Contract Authority Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2015

A RESOLUTION

                                                        

21-246

 

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

October 6, 2015         

 

To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to authorize the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department to contract with third parties to provide supplemental pre-hospital medical care and transportation for Basic Life Support calls for service.

 

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Emergency Medical Services Contract Authority Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2015”.

 

Sec. 2.  (a) Under existing law, the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (“FEMS”) is required to provide pre-hospital medical care and transportation in the District.

(b) The District’s current emergency medical services call volume is at a historic high and increases every month.

(c) The high call volume for emergency medical services provided by FEMS is having an impact on FEMS’s availability to respond to all emergencies.

(d) Often patient transports are used for lower priority services provided by FEMS, with many requiring only a Basic Life Support (“BLS”) level of care.

(e) Emergency response units are required to remain out-of-service while transporting and transferring low-acuity patients to a hospital’s care. The average time at the hospital ranges from 45 to 56 minutes and impedes FEMS personnel’s ability to fully prepare for the next emergency call.

(f) As a result, there are times when there are no ambulances available to respond to emergencies.

(g) Council approval of emergency legislation allowing FEMS to contract with third parties to provide BLS transport services will allow FEMS to respond to all calls, including critical and time-sensitive calls for service.

(h) Additionally, each third-party contractor is required to provide a quarterly report to the Council so that the Council may evaluate the effectiveness of the services rendered.

(i) FEMS will provide, within 4 months after the date of a contract award, a report to the Council that includes its efforts to educate the public on requesting emergency services and a synopsis of statistics related to personnel training, patient fees, and ambulance services.

(j) The Office of Unified Communications will provide, within 4 months after the date of a contract award, a report on average dispatch times and how the office re-routes non-emergency calls.

 

Sec. 3.  The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Emergency Medical Services Contract Authority Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 be adopted after a single reading.

 

Sec. 4.  This resolution shall take effect immediately.