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EMS Under Budget Microscope In Pinellas

News Channel 8 File Photo

Trucks operated by paramedics in Pinellas County are required to respond to an emergency in 7 minutes, 30 seconds.

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By MARK  DOUGLAS | News Channel 8
and STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 20, 2009

Updated: 03/20/2009 04:56 pm

CLEARWATER - Pinellas county commissioners have approved two resolutions that enable EMS managers to streamline how the county delivers emergency rescue service to eliminate an estimated 18 million dollar budge shortfall.

Firefighters say the move is a "smoke and mirrors" attempt to eliminate 65 paramedic jobs and take a number of rescue units out of service at the expense of public safety.

County commissioners say today's vote does nothing more than fire a "starting gun" for the county to consider a number of options to balance the shrinking budget.

Today, an overflow crowd of several hundred people ranging from city fire chiefs to residents grateful for the paramedics who rushed to their aid, attended a Pinellas County Commission hearing to comment on a plan to cut emergency rescue costs countywide.

As it stands, Advanced Life Support units, such as trucks operated by paramedics, are required to respond to an emergency in 7 minutes, 30 seconds 90 percent of the time.

But Craig Hare, manager of the county's emergency medical services division, says the average is 4 1/2 minutes, with a five-minute average kicking in 64 percent of the time. That means, in the eyes of the county commission, there is "excess response capacity'' – which in layman's terms means too many vehicles and personnel.

The proposal to bring the actual response time in line with the required one — or establish a new response threshold for the county's 19 municipalities and fire districts — comes as the county wrestles with an $18 million shortfall in county revenues.

While the county maintains there would be no effect on the quality of services, others disagree, including Jim Large, chief of St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue. Large noted to the commission that a two-minute addition to response times would make a lot of difference to someone's whose house is burning down.

Some are also rankled by the way fire chiefs and cities have been told of the commission's proposal, with some complaining they didn't receive the latest proposal until three days ago.

In many cases, three vehicles are dispatched to a call - an ALS truck and a fire engine from the local fire station and an ambulance operated by SunStar, a private company. Depending on the information dispatchers receive, one of the vehicles may be called off the emergency, but the county believes there is duplication of services in some instances.

What the county wants to do is use its authority and consolidate some of the vehicles and staff coming from the fire stations.

For instance, in East Lake, Palm Harbor and Largo, county officials want to take a fire engine out of service. In other cities such as St. Pete Beach, Clearwater, Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg, they want to take ALS rescue trucks out of service and put some of the personnel and ALS equipment into fire engines.

One alternative option put forth by the firefighter union, dubbed a 'hybrid plan," would essentially save firefighter jobs by using fire department rescue trucks to transport patients to area hospitals.

Under the current system there is a dual response system in which a fire truck and rescue unit respond to emergencies, treat patients and wait for private SunStar ambulances to arrive and take patients to the hospital.

Most everyone agrees that system is a "Cadillac" plan that Pinellas County government can no longer afford.

One critic of the plan, Scott Sanford, president of the union representing Palm Harbor and Oldsmar firefighters, said the county was shifting the cost of emergency medical centers to the cities and fire districts. Sanford also said up to 70 paramedics and firefighters would lose their jobs.

After today's vote county commissioners admonished firefighters for not getting involved earlier in the process and encouraged them to take part in cost-cutting discussions in which "all options are on the table."

The county must make the cuts to balance the budget by July 1. Coincidentally, the Sunstar contract is up for renewal and is currently under negotiation, which leaves the door open for scaled-back service under the "hybrid plan" proposed by the firefighters union.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336. Reporter Mark Douglas can be reached at (727) 536-9603

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