‘Sinking ship’: MultCo Board votes down immediate action, but passes long-term approach to ambulance crisis

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Deliberations about how to handle the slow ambulance response times continued in a Multnomah County Board meeting Thursday.

While a long-term solution to the ambulance crisis was on the agenda, a couple of commissioners unsuccessfully tried to bring more urgency to the table.

Lake Oswego man indicted after allegedly drugging girls at sleepover

Commissioners Sharon Meieran and Julia Brim-Edwards tried pressuring Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson to act urgently on the spot in Thursday’s Board meeting after they said their efforts were blocked from going through the normal channels.

“What could possibly be important enough to prevent even the public discourse to have this conversation here on this Board today?” said Meieran, who proposed a resolution to temporarily allow ambulances to operate with one paramedic and one emergency medical technician.

“I hope that we would consider this and not just the next agenda item, which is an 18-month assessment,” said Brim-Edwards. “I’m going to support that because I think it’s the right thing to do but I also think the county needs to take action now. We have the opportunity today and Commissioner Meieran has followed the rules.”

Police identify Clark County deputies involved in fatal shooting during welfare check

However, after much debate, there weren’t enough votes to even consider it. Commissioners Jesse Beason, Lori Stegmann and Chair Vega Pederson voted it down.

Next came public testimony from former and current American Medical Response employees who criticized the ambulance company.

“More medics are leaving to work at other agencies [that] will treat them better and do treat them better — I am one of these people,” said Micah Fullerton, a former AMR employee. “A long career is not possible at AMR given the company’s toxic work environment.”

‘It is time for change, our EMS professionals deserve better, our community deserves better,” added Tim Mollman, a paramedic in Multnomah County. “On the surface removing the 2 paramedic system seems like a quick logical fix to the current paramedic shortage. This only treats the symptoms and not the underlying disease.”

Another AMR employee testified saying the majority of his coworkers are in opposition of changing the staffing model.

“Numerous people have been leaving and will continue to leave if that changes,” said Jeremy Abbott, a paramedic in Multnomah County. “Our system is broken, diving into this — how we can fix things is critical, the concern about the fallacy of being reactionary and changing the system immediately to what is perceived as crisis is out of line.”

ODOT to close major Portland-Beaverton connection for nine months

While some paramedics stressed they wanted to keep the two-paramedic model through this crisis, other emergency agency leaders — like Portland Fire and Rescue Chief Ryan Gillespie — continued to say the temporary immediate change is vital for life and safety.

“Multnomah County has legal authority over emergency medical transport and it is currently a sinking ship. You are captains of this ship,” Gillespie said. “It is important to look at how the hole is created — how we can prevent future holes — that will be done by the assessment of the ambulance service plan. However, that hole must be patched right away with the tools and equipment we have available.”

The Board did move forward with a longer term approach, approving spending $167,000 to hire an outside expert to assess the problem and provide recommendations.

“With today’s action, we are one step closer to where we need to be and my hope is that this will pay off in a resolution to this crisis that meets both the needs of our providers and the needs of our community,” said Chair Vega Pederson.

Commissioner Meieran was the sole “no” vote.

Audit outlines challenges addressing Oregon’s government workforce crisis

“In terms of the issue at hand, should we hire a consultant? That’s a nothing burger,” Meieran said. “I don’t think that’s the best use of our funds.”

The Board is expected to receive recommendations from Phase 1 of the Ambulance Service Plan assessment in 6-9 months.

During that time, the following steps will happen:

● Engage external consultant with EMS system subject matter expertise

● Stakeholder engagement (interviews, focus groups, written comments)

● System assessment: data review and analysis

● Recommendations to the BOCC

While the county is taking these longer-term steps to assess the ambulance service plan here, some commissioners said it doesn’t prevent them from also taking short-term actions to speed up ambulance response times.

Brim-Edwards said the average ambulance response time in January was 28 minutes.

The board plans to meet with AMR in a work session in March but an official date has yet to be set.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.