Ambulance service in Sonoma County under review

Supervisor Lynda Hopkins has slammed the brakes on a move to rewrite the rules governing local ambulance service in Sonoma County, claiming the draft in its current form would financially harm local fire districts that provide ambulance services.

Hopkins said the draft ordinance does not do enough to protect the financial viability of ambulance services provided by local fire districts, and is calling for a complete redo of the draft ordinance that does not put public ambulances in direct competition with private operators.

“I absolutely want a fresh start. I will not be satisfied with window dressing,” Hopkins said.

County officials in charge of updating the county’s Emergency Medical Services ordinance have agreed to halt the process to allow for greater public input.

Hopkins became involved in the matter after Sonoma County fire/EMS representatives voiced concern over the draft ordinance, which was spearheaded by the Coastal Valley EMS Agency, or CVEMSA.

The agency administers the local EMS system as an agent of the county Department of Health Services, in accordance with section 1797.200 of the state health and safety code.

As a result, CVEMSA is under the authority of the county Board of Supervisors.

But Hopkins said the proposed ordinance rewrite seems to shift authority away from the board and health services department, potentially threatening oversight of the agency.

“I don’t think this model is necessarily what we need in Sonoma County,” said Hopkins.

Barbie Robinson, director of the county health services department, sought to allay such fears.

Robinson, the top county administrator in charge of revamping the ordinance, said the draft ordinance was merely an attempt to update the local EMS system in accordance with current health care practices to ensure all ambulance operators are adhering to the same standards and protocols.

“The goal is to make sure that all public and private ambulance providers are all on the same page, being consistent with the same requirements,” Robinson said.

She rejected the idea the proposed ordinance was an effort to allow private ambulance services to dip into territory covered by public fire/EMS providers.

On June 12, Hopkins sent a letter to Robinson blasting the draft ordinance as a move toward privatization of local ambulance services.

Ambulance services provided by the fire districts are critical to their financial welfare. Two of the fire districts - Bodega Bay Fire Protection District and Russian River Fire Protection District - are in her district, along with the Coast Life Support District in Gualala that provides both ambulance and paramedic service.

Robinson’s department responded in writing to Hopkins’ letter, denying the proposed ordinance was an attempt to favor private ambulance services.

CVEMSA, the county designated EMS agency, contends the proposed revision does not “provide barriers to any currently operating organization nor does it create incentives for any organization, public or private, to expand the current scope of operations,” according to the letter from the county health services department.

Bryan Cleaver, administrator for the county EMS system, declined to comment about the draft ordinance and concerns raised by Hopkins and the local public fire/EMS providers the supervisor met with.

He directed all questions to Robinson.

Dean Anderson, regional director for American Medical Response-Sonoma County, the largest private ambulance operator in the county, said his company had no interest in operating in locations currently served by fire department ambulance operators. He said AMR is a fully accredited ambulance operator that has served central Sonoma County since 1991 and daily provides a “high quality of care.”

“We shall continue to deliver the best EMS services to our community in cooperation and collaboration with all of the county’s first responders and ambulance providers,” Anderson said in an email.

AMR covers much of the county’s urban core, including Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park, and transports more than 25,000 patients to and from local medical facilities.

The county system of ambulance service is a patchwork of public and private operators maintaining a total of about 20 ambulances throughout the county.

Family-owned private Bell’s Ambulance Service covers the Windsor and Healdsburg region. Meanwhile, much of rural Sonoma County is covered by either ambulance services operated by voter-approved fire districts or specialized medical districts such Cloverdale Health Care District and the Coast Life Support District.

Other public ambulance operators include the Bodega Bay Fire Protection District, Russian River Fire Protection District and the Sonoma Valley Fire & Rescue Authority.