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the first response was affordable for the rural areas. Ambulance providers pooled a revenue source in <br />FireMed and funded the medical care equipment fund for central Lane County. <br /> <br />Councilor Pishioneri asked if calls for service in the rural areas that resulted in Life Flight being called by <br />Springfield EMS was a billable event for Springfield EMS. <br /> <br />Chief Murphy said the response in the Cougar area was provided by the United States Forest Service <br />(USFS) group called the Emergency Action Service. They were a rural non-profit organization that <br />provided first response in rural areas staffed mostly by USFS personnel. They could generally respond 40 <br />minutes before the Springfield EMS and would make an initial assessment. If Life Flight was called, <br />Springfield EMS would be waived off before arrival. <br /> <br />Mr. Griffiths said if Life Flight was requested by a fire department to transport a patient, and the patient <br />was put on an aircraft, it was a billable event. He said 9-1-1 protocol called for transport of patients to the <br />closest appropriate medical facility as decided by medical control. Fixed wing aircraft currently were not <br />used for 9-1-1 calls in this area, but typically were used for inter-facility transports for longer distances or <br />those that were not suitable for helicopter transport. <br /> <br />Chief Murphy said Life Flight contributed over $100,000 to the local fire departments to offset any lost <br />revenue. He added his department could bill if it was called and rendered care prior to the arrival of Life <br />Flight. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy asked for a definition of the legal meaning of core services. Before changing the ASA, she <br />wanted to be sure what happened in any “give and get” negotiation. The current system seemed to be <br />working well and should not be compromised. She asked if that system would be compromised in a quest <br />to deal with financial issues. She would be concerned about sharing jurisdictional oversight with an <br />ambulance district and supported the proposed LCOG study. She asked if the public was well enough <br />educated about ways to get information about the state of their health other than going to the ambulance <br />service and emergency room. <br /> <br />Chief Groves did not know if there was a legal determination for core services. Core or essential services <br />consisted of anything provided for the health and welfare of the community. <br /> <br />Chief Murphy said CAHOOTS was an example of an alternative delivery that was working. He thought <br />there was a place for CAHOOTS in Springfield as a smart alternative service provider. <br /> <br />Councilor Poling shared the following observations: <br /> <br />? <br /> He hoped any discussion at the City of Eugene would be about decreasing rather than increasing <br />response times. Monetary gain from increasing the response time did not come anywhere near the <br />cost of a life. <br />? <br /> Since starting his law enforcement career in 1972, he had seen great improvements in emergency <br />medical care. He thanked Fire and EMS personnel and ER staff for their efforts on behalf of the <br />community. The community had one of the finest EMS systems around. <br />? <br /> He appreciated the efforts of Fire administration and union members for working together to <br />develop a solution on the problem rather than being at loggerheads as in the past. <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— January 27, 2009 Page 11 <br /> Lane Board of County Commissioners, Lane Rural Fire/Rescue Board of Directors and Eu- <br />gene and Springfield City Councils <br /> <br />