Multnomah County’s ambulance crisis poised to end two years after AMR raised the alarm

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – The controversial debate surrounding Multnomah County’s ambulance crisis is expected to end this week as the county considers a plan that, if passed, would lead to major changes in paramedic staffing.

A tentative agreement between the county and American Medical Response (AMR) — its contracted ambulance company — is expected to fix the county’s dangerously long ambulance response times that have left patients relying on TriMet buses, police cars, and fire engines to get to the hospital.

But a former paramedic and EMS director Dr. Stephen Dean said the development is bittersweet, as the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners plan to vote on a plan this week that resembles what AMR had suggested years ago.

“It’s ironic that today, more than two years since March of 2022, the county is poised to adopt a one paramedic, one EMT staffing model,” Dr. Dean said.

For months, AMR has advocated for temporarily allowing ambulances to be operated by one paramedic and one emergency medical technician (known as the 1-1 model), which was a deviation from the previous requirements for a minimum of two paramedics.

Dr. Dean has 50 years of experience in emergency medical services that have led him to advocate for this change from the beginning, saying that “all of the medical research, all the medical evidence, strongly supports the idea that response times are the most important thing.”

The model put forth Aug. 1 , as recommended by Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, involves a 12-month staffing plan that separates staffing models into three tiers:

• Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances with two EMTs
• Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances with two paramedics
• Hybrid ALS ambulances with one paramedic, one EMT

But the switch is something the Chair Vega Pederson has stonewalled since stepping into office. She and Commissioners Jesse Beason and Lori Stegmann, EMS Medical Director Dr. Jon Jui, and the paramedics union had all worked together to oppose the move .

Meanwhile, Commissioners Sharon Meieran and Julia Brim-Edwards — backed by every other fire agency and city within Multnomah County — maintained it was the only viable solution to urgently protect public safety.

“I think it’s really unfortunate that the EMS medical director did not immediately adjust the standard in light of the paramedic shortage, which AMR had no control over,” Dr. Dean said. “And had the paramedic standard been adjusted back in March of 2022, we never would have had this ambulance crisis.”

Now, Dr. Dean says residents can look to the future.

“This is going to be great for the patients,” he said. “There is now finally a credible medical plan to end the ambulance shortage and to ensure that patients get the rapid response times that are needed in these critical medical emergencies.”

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

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