Item D: Eugene Fire & EMS Department Ambulance Service Area Realignment

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: Eugene Fire & EMS Department Ambulance Service Area Realignment Meeting Date: April 17, 2013 Agenda Item Number: D Department: Eugene Fire & EMS Staff Contact: Randall B. Groves, Chief www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-7115 ISSUE STATEMENT In keeping with Recommendation #5 in the 2009 Joint Elected Officials Ambulance Transport Task Force Report, Eugene Fire and EMS entered into a 2011 IGA with the Lane Rural Fire/Rescue District (LRFR) to create more of an urban/rural split between Ambulance Service Area #4 (Eugene) and #8 (LRFR). The IGA was signed on August 21, 2011. LRFR subsequently created a functional consolidation with Lane County Fire District #1 and now operates as the Lane Fire Authority (LFA). Following a favorable evaluation period, both Eugene Fire & EMS and the LFA have submitted a joint request to Lane County, which has statutory authority for assigning ASAs within the County, to reconfigure the boundary between ASA #4 and #8 to codify the change. The majority of this area is within ASA #4, Zone #3. BACKGROUND The first Joint Elected Officials Ambulance Transport Task Force meeting convened on April 6, 2009. During the next two years, the ATS JEO Task Force decided on seven recommendations. Recommendation #5 stated that the ASA boundaries should be reconfigured to the west of Eugene’s Urban Growth Boundary and the western-most contract fire protection districts served by Eugene Fire & EMS. This boundary change will provide a number of benefits for the constituents and ambulance service providers. First, it will greatly reduce response times for emergency calls occurring in ASA #4, Zone #3. Zone #3 extends from just west of Eugene’s urban growth boundary (UGB) to a point between Walton and Mapleton (See Attachment #1). With a redeployment of an LFA ambulance into the area, ambulance response times were reduced by an average of seven minutes and 14 seconds during the evaluation period. Second, the shift in boundaries allows Eugene ambulances to remain within ASA #4 and be available more often for response within the metro area. Third, this move has helped preserve some badly needed capacity within Eugene’s ambulance system. Fourth, the boundary change would allow for growth of the LFA ambulance service, both geographically in service area as well as in terms of a revenue base. Additionally, it better aligns with the first response service area of the newly consolidated LFA organization. The change will also pave the way for a future placement of an LFA ambulance in the City of Veneta area which would decrease response times further. However, it must be recognized that deployment decisions in this area will ultimately be made by the provider agency. S:\CMO\2013 Council Agendas\M130417\S130417D.doc