PARAMEDIC
& EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
PAST
In 2014, Western Sierra
Medical Clinic (WSMC) terminated emergency medical services and advanced
life-support backup for the Downieville ambulance. The clinic also reduced
office and after-hours coverage.
At that time, WSMC offered $50,000 to fund a
paramedic on the condition that said paramedic would function as a medical
provider in the clinic. The problem was that under California law, a paramedic
can only operate from an ambulance, and WSMC does not have an ambulance.
Western Sierra Medical Clinic also terminated
the Enloe Base Hospital Agreement. This agreement had designated WSMC in
Downieville as an alternate base station for Enloe Medical Center in Chico, and
thereby had allowed the Downieville Ambulance to take patients to the clinic.
The clinic then announced reduced hours and that
it would no longer provide emergency care. Since WSMC had been the vital link
with the ambulance for advanced life-support services a huge vacuum in
emergency care was created.
PRESENT
Sierra Frontier Medical Resources (SFMR), a
local non-profit organization formed in 2014 to rebuild the infrastructure of
emergency medical services for western Sierra County. This group has sponsored
the following:
·
Training
17 Homemaker Health Aides
·
Training
13 Emergency Medical Responders
·
Training
14 Emergency Medical Technicians
·
Initiating/
funding the current Paramedic Pilot Project with community support
·
Training
12 Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians
·
Encouraging
community members to obtain medical helicopter insurance
In 2017, SFMR developed the Paramedic Pilot
Project (PPP) and raised $56,000 in donations to fund it. The first paramedic
was hired in June; Rachel Defibaugh is highly skilled and currently provides
advanced life support services from the Downieville Fire District Ambulance
which serves both Downieville and Sierra City.
She works with our volunteer EMTs and rescue personnel. The program is very successful, but it has
only sufficient funding to run through December, 2017. A long-term solution is needed to sustain the
service.
Sierra Frontier Medical Resources has applied
for two grants through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and
both were approved but not funded. Currently there are no state grants
available to support rural paramedic development.
The remaining option is to ask the community to
support a tax for paramedic and advanced emergency medical services. We need a
skilled professional on-duty 24/7 to work alongside our trained volunteers in
acute medical and trauma situations. The proposed tax would fund these vital
services.
FUTURE
Why do we need a Paramedic?
Many essential Advanced
Life Support procedures and skills are only in the scope of a Paramedic. These
include:
·
Advanced
Cardiac Life Support
·
Pain
Management
·
Medication
for Seizure Intervention
·
Advanced
Respiratory Care Procedures
·
Pediatric
Advanced Life Support
·
Advanced
Treatment for Trauma & Shock
What are we planning?
We need ongoing
public support for this vital program to provide emergency care to residents as
well as visitors. We have exhausted community donations and grant options.
Proponents in the Downieville Fire Protection
District and the Sierra City Fire District, respectively, plan to submit a
ballot measure to the voters of each of their districts in June, 2018, which
would establish a parcel tax in order to sustain paramedic and emergency
medical services.
The special annual property tax would be as
follows: Single Family Residences: $100; Mixed Residential, Commercial and
Industrial: $150; Vacant/Agricultural/Open Space: $60; TPZ (without residence):
$25; Government, Public Utility, Community Service, Churches, Fraternal
Organizations are exempt. In the case of
multiple dwelling units, the tax might possibly be passed on to renters.
Unless we
obtain public support for the paramedic and advanced emergency medical services,
we face real and significant risk for increased mortality.
