Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Chief Groves said advising people at the scene what the cost of transport would be had started with a change in the state law to inform patients. The non-emergency transport contract for the City of Eugene was a cost avoidance model to reduce costs for non-emergency transports from skilled nursing facilities since over 80 percent of the skilled nursing facilities in the area were located in the Eugene ASA which created a lot of transports between the care facilities and the hospitals. Staff was in the process of negotiating a contract with Rural/Metro Ambulance that would help alleviate the call load and free up limited emergency resources. In response to a question from Councilor Ortiz, Mr. Collins explained calls for Rural/Metro Ambulance service would be routed to a number other than the 9-1-1 system, where they would be dispatched directly from Rural/Metro’s site to the calling agency or individual. Chief Murphy said the skilled nursing facilities were currently clustered around the SHMC University District but this might change over time with the opening of the SHMC RiverBend campus. Springfield Fire and Life Safety would reevaluate the situation and be prepared to respond to those changes. He supported the decision by Eugene and thought it a smart business decision. Councilor Taylor did not think a district would work and people would not want it. She asked if the mileage was included in the cost of transport. She asked if universal health care would solve the problem. She asked what happened when people who were not indigent and did not have health insurance did not pay the bill. She asked if a person who did not ask for or want an ambulance but was transported, would be responsible for paying the bill. Chief Groves explained there was a base rate and a mileage factor used to calculate the cost of transport. Universal health care would go a long way in solving the problem. Unpaid bills were turned over for collection. Staff tried to work with people to satisfy the obligation before turning accounts over for collection. People could decline service. However, if a person was unconscious, under state law, that was implied consent, and they were treated and transported on the theory they wanted to be saved. Commissioner Handy thanked Councilor Ortiz for understanding the urgency of the situation in the community. He said the County needed to live within its means, and he was hearing that from the community. At the same time, people also wanted services. The County was looking for things to bubble up from the grass roots to bring issues to the BCC and put on the ballot. It was important to work with the state legislature and federal partners. A hospital was needed on the west side of Eugene to deal with transport distances. City services were excellent and should not be compromised. Urban services not going outside of the UGB needed to be looked at. If a countywide district was considered, a tiered structure should be considered to address urban/rural interface. He wanted to know what the impacts of compres- sion related to Ballot Measure 50 would be on other services. Mayor Leiken said Chief Murphy had always encouraged the City Council to talk with him, the IAFF president and the City of Springfield firefighters. This was a unique culture and allowed the council to make educated decisions for the community. He concurred with Commissioner Handy that compression should be considered. He asked what would be the difference between an ambulance authority and a special district. He understood a special district would be a separate entity than the local governments with its own board and administration. Chief Murphy cited the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) as an example of how a fire service authority could operate through an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with partner MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— January 27, 2009 Page 12 Lane Board of County Commissioners, Lane Rural Fire/Rescue Board of Directors and Eu- gene and Springfield City Councils