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whom he represented, and had been for too long. Many patients had the means to pay for ambulance <br />transport service and the once adequate source of funding could no longer sustain EMS in the Eugene area. <br />The City, the union and the stakeholders had previously met to discuss the situation, and the union had <br />determined there was only one viable alternative to solve the EMS crisis in Eugene. EMS must be <br />designated as a core essential service. EMS transport must no longer be funded from an enterprise fund. <br />The current system did not differentiate between various types of calls. Highly trained paramedics who <br />responded to life threatening injuries and illnesses were also dispatched to inter-facility and non-emergency <br />medical calls for which the department no longer had the capacity. The City of Eugene deserved an <br />ambulance transport system to focus on life threatening emergencies. The current practice of sending City <br />of Eugene paramedics well into the county was no longer a sustainable practice. Public safety was not and <br />should not be in the business of making money and saving lives and was not an enterprise. He urged <br />adoption of the following: <br /> <br />? <br /> Designation by the City Council of ambulance transport as an essential service funded appropriate- <br />ly. <br />? <br /> Eugene Fire Department paramedics must continue to provide first response advance life support <br />services and advanced life support transport. <br />? <br /> The City must expand its contract with private providers to include non-emergency, BLS support <br />transportation and inter-facility transports. <br />? <br /> The City must immediately discontinue dispatching Eugene paramedics outside of the Urban <br />Growth Boundary (UGB). <br /> <br />Kevin Grey, IAFF local 1395, representing Springfield firefighters, welcomed everyone in attendance. The <br />impacts of the decisions that came out of this forum would last for many years. He believed Springfield <br />provided the highest quality of care on the streets which could not be matched by any other service <br />provider. Capacity issues had been addressed by Chief Murphy and the Springfield City Council. <br />Ambulances on the street had increased since 2003 to meet the community’s demand. There was an <br />economic climate as well as the Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement issue that needed to be faced by <br />everyone. Currently, Springfield had the capacity to handle the call volume and was not as stressed with <br />the workload issue as Eugene. Springfield currently operated the best system possible with the dollars <br />spent and any reductions would be detrimental to patient care. He looked forward to a positive outcome <br />from the forum and did not want to see any drastic changes to the system. <br /> <br />Susie Robinson, representing Oregon State Ambulance Association, provided a PowerPoint presentation <br />that highlighted the funding challenges association members faced and the medical fee schedule. Changes <br />in service levels and fee schedules implemented in 2003 have had a significant impact on ambulance service <br />revenues. Possible solutions included: <br /> <br />? <br /> Rate increases. <br />? <br /> Subsidies. <br />? <br /> Reduced response time requirements. <br />? <br /> Other expense reductions. <br /> <br />Mr. LeDuc thanked the presenters. <br /> <br />The group took a break from 6:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. <br /> <br />VI. QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— January 27, 2009 Page 6 <br /> Lane Board of County Commissioners, Lane Rural Fire/Rescue Board of Directors and Eu- <br />gene and Springfield City Councils <br /> <br />