This
changed in 2014 when WSMC decided it could no longer afford to provide those
services due to cost and inability to recruit providers with the requisite
skills to provide advanced life support (ALS) and emergency care. The Clinic
also terminated the Alternate Base Station Agreement with Enloe and therefore
the ambulance can no longer take patients to the Clinic for stabilization
because it is not an emergency care facility. However, the ambulance can still
pick up patients at the Clinic.
This
action left a major deficit in the availability of ALS services to western
Sierra County. The ambulance staffing has several advanced EMTs who can provide
some ALS care including King Airway, Epi-Pens for allergic reactions, Glucagon
injection for insulin shock as well as IV and injectable Narcan for opiate
overdose. They are not able to provide Advanced Cardiac Life Support or
Pediatric Advanced Life Support.
There
was an offer from the Clinic that a paramedic could be added to the Clinic
staff at the time however that role was designed to deal with after hours
Downieville Jail Inmate Medical Clearance needs at the time and that was beyond
the scope of Paramedic Training and is not allowed by the State EMS System.
Consequently,
Sierra Frontier was formed as a non-profit corporation, to address this need.
Our purpose is to acquire and support the development of financial and other
resources to assure the availability of medical and health resources, including
emergency care to the residents and visitors of western Sierra County.
We
are rebuilding the EMS Infrastructure of western Sierra County a brick at a
time. We have already trained 17 Homemaker Health Aides, 13 Emergency Medical
Responders and most recently 14 Emergency Medical Technicians who will provide
emergency care to residents in Alleghany-Pike, Camptonville, Downieville,
Sierra City, Calpine and Loyalton.
Our
first priority is to focus on ALS Services, since those are the most vital in
the EMS chain of survival. Our next objective is to sponsor a Western Sierra
County Pilot Paramedic Project in which the Downieville Fire Protection
District will hire a full time paramedic from June 1, 2017 thru October 1,
2017. The cost of the project is $25,000. To date we have raised about $10,000.
We
will use the Pilot Project to develop the structure and funding for a
sustainable long term Paramedic Project that will focus on EMS Basic and ALS
Services, Training of EMS Staff at Sierra City Fire Department, Downieville
Fire Protection District and Alleghany Pike Community Services District.
We
hope to develop funding with a new EMS Fee in those districts as well as amfulance fees, grants and local organizational support including Western Sierra Medical
Clinic.
We
are asking for support from residents, organizations, and businesses in Sierra
County as well as visitors, requesting their financial support of this Pilot
Project.
