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Ambulance Rate Increase in Process; FireMed Campaign Gears Up <br />In accordance with City Council direction, the <br />Fire & EMS Department has initiated an <br />administrative order that would raise the City's <br />basic one-way ambulance transport fee from <br />$900 to $1,150. This fee was last raised in <br />2006. The new rate brings Eugene to the <br />same rate currently charged by our two <br />neighboring ambulance providers, Springfield <br />Fire & Life Safety and Lane Rural Fire/Rescue. <br />The fee increase is necessary in order to <br />continue the City's ambulance service on a <br />self-supporting basis (i.e., without General <br />Fund support). As council learned in a recent <br />work session, other, more fundamental <br />measures are being studied in order to address <br />worsening negative revenue projections <br />caused by declining Medicare and Medicaid <br />reimbursements and other factors. For Eugene and other emergency medical service providers <br />throughout the U.S., rate increases are only a short-term solution. <br />Meanwhile, the three area providers kicked off the 2008-09 FireMed membership campaign last week at <br />Mahlon Sweet Field with the announcement that LifeFlight Air Ambulance Service would be basing rotary <br />and fixed-wing emergency transport aircraft in Eugene, and would be offering air medical transport <br />service as an adjunct to basic FireMed membership. FireMed membership, providing emergency ground <br />ambulance service to an entire household at no out-of-pocket cost, is available for $52 for the full fiscal <br />year, and FireMed Plus, which includes air ambulance service, is offered for $84. Revenue from FireMed <br />memberships is another important element in the overall funding base for the area's ambulance transport <br />systems. For more information, please contact Denise Giard, Deputy Chief of Administration, at <br />682-7111. <br />Words & Music: First Friday @ the Downtown Library <br />On Friday, April 4, an evening of free entertainment begins at 6:00 p.m. at the downtown Eugene Public <br />Library with live music by the Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, presented by host Giancarlo <br />Guerrero, Music Director of the Eugene Symphony. The program features performances of Introduction <br />et Allegro (flute, clarinet, harp, and string quartet) and Duo (violin and cello) by Maurice Ravel. This <br />community performance is part of the Discovering Daphnis Festival, celebrating the life and work of the <br />French Impressionist composer. <br />At 7:00 p.m., author Cai Emmons talks about the challenges and <br />joys of the writing life and how her novels evolve. Her first book, <br />His Mother’s Son, won the Ken Kesey Award for the Novel.The <br />Stylist, her latest work, was praised by Booklist, “with family <br />relations as twisted as a French braid and language as vivid as a <br />platinum dye job, Emmons’ potent novel features magnetic <br />characters and complex and compelling secrets.” <br />Emmons’ short work has been published widely, including in Now <br />Write: Writing Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers. <br />Before turning to fiction, she wrote for theater, film, and television. <br />Books will be for sale, courtesy of the U of O Book Store, during <br />the book signing. For more information, call Eugene Public Library <br />at 682-5450. <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 <br />March 27, 2008 <br />