Taking a similar step to one Costa Mesa took in 2018, Anaheim Fire and Rescue will add emergency medical transportation to its public offerings and stop using a private ambulance company.
Anaheim has contracted with Care Ambulance since 1998 and has always been pleased with the company’s services, city spokeswoman Erin Ryan said, but the switch is expected to save the city money – potentially as much as $2 million a year. Residents shouldn’t see any change in emergency response, officials say.
On July 28, the Anaheim City Council voted to start the process of bringing ambulance service in house, so officials will look into whether owning or leasing the vehicles is more cost-effective, and the Fire Department will be hiring about 42 emergency medical technicians as ambulance operators, Ryan said.
Ryan said there won’t be a significant difference between what the city spends on staffing in its contract with Care and what it will spend on the new employees, and vehicle maintenance, gas and operating costs are already passed through to the city.
A report to the council showed the biggest savings – more than $1 million annually – coming from administrative functions the city now pays Care to provide, but could be absorbed by existing Fire Department staff.
The change also gives the city greater oversight of an essential amenity it provides to residents and millions of visitors, and it will allow the city to offer young people more options as stepping stones to jobs in the fire service, Ryan said. Career education in local high schools includes fire and emergency services training and internships.
“The service will be exactly the same to our residents, so no one should be concerned about any difference in response times,” she said.
In Costa Mesa, the transition to in-house emergency medical transportation went smoothly and has exceeded officials’ expectations, Fire Chief Dan Stefano said.
In fall 2018, Stefano’s department bought its own ambulances and stationed them at city fire stations, whereas previously they had been based elsewhere and required a separate call to get dispatched in an emergency.
Unlike Anaheim, Costa Mesa continued contracting with Care to staff the vehicles, but Stefano said having ambulance operators working at fire stations means they train alongside firefighters and work better as a team.
The city isn’t making more money providing ambulance service, Stefano said, but it’s able to recover more of its costs. Before the switch, the contracted ambulance company handled billing and the city typically received a flat fee for each response, even when a city firefighter-paramedic had to ride in the ambulance to care for a patient headed to the hospital.
Costa Mesa will likely continue fine-tuning the program, but taking over ambulance service has worked out well for the city, Stefano said, adding, “I think you’re going to see a number of other agencies in Orange County that come forward and do the same type of program.”
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Anaheim to bring emergency medical transport in house, end contract with Care Ambulance - OCRegister
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