‘The right thing:’ Fort Worth committee recommends civil service benefits for EMS employees
Members of Fort Worth’s ad hoc council committee on emergency medical response have recommended that MedStar employees who transition to the proposed fire department-based EMS model receive civil service benefits.
Michael Glynn, president of the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association, called the decision “the right thing to do,” and said it sends a message that Fort Worth is committed to caring for its EMS employees.
Tuesday’s decision comes two weeks after the committee narrowed down the EMS options under consideration to a fire-based model that would incorporate MedStar employees. If the Fort Worth City Council approves the committee’s recommendation, MedStar’s current employees would come on board as Fort Worth employees and serve as paramedics and emergency medical technicians on ambulances run by the Fire Department.
“This is going to be a great opportunity for us to work together as one team in one department,” Glynn told the Star-Telegram.
Even though the EMS workers wouldn’t serve as firefighters, their status as civil service employees would allow them to receive line-of-duty death and injury benefits, among other protections afforded to firefighters and police officers.
The Fort Worth City Council is expected to vote on adopting the ad hoc committee’s EMS recommendations and the implementation/transition plan on May 21.
MedStar has served as the sole ambulance provider for Fort Worth and the surrounding communities since 1986. Spokesperson Matt Zavadsky said MedStar will support whatever decision the council makes.
“Whatever it’s going to take to make a smooth transition and make sure that the new system is as operationally efficient, and clinically proficient as possible, we want to help facilitate that,” Zavadsky said.
Assistant City Manager Valerie Washington said the city’s goal is to make the change to fire-based EMS as easy as possible for residents.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make it a seamless process so users of the system won’t notice anything,” Washington said.
According to Washington, the transition could take up to 18 months, though she thinks that estimate is on the high end. City officials are working with Fitch and Associates, the independent consultant hired to assess Fort Worth’s EMS system, to fine tune the timeline.
A major part of the transition, according to Washington, will be the hiring and onboarding of employees to staff the ambulances.
“We would anticipate sitting down with all of the (MedStar) employees and determining, you know, which ones can move over,” Washington said. “We’re anticipating that many of them will.”
According to Zavadsky, the ambulance service currently employs around 400 paramedics and emergency medical technicians. Around 100 more employees work in dispatch and various support roles, including logistics, human resources, payroll and those who re-stock the ambulances.
It’s not clear where those who serve in support roles at MedStar would fit into the new EMS model, but Washington said some of those functions may go to other city departments outside the Fire Department.
Another part of the transition, Washington said, will be working with local hospitals and other healthcare facilities to manage their own inter-facility transports. MedStar currently provides all inter-facility transports for Fort Worth and the 13 member cities.
Officials said Tuesday that an inter-facility transfer working group will identify vendors and help coordinate the details for this portion of the transition.
“That’s definitely one of those processes that we want to make sure is solid,” Washington told the Star-Telegram.
Fort Worth is also working toward streamlining its 911 service. Currently the Fort Worth Police Department, Fire Department and MedStar each use separate communications and dispatch centers. Washington said the goal is to get all of the area’s emergency services using the same technology and eventually bring them under the same roof.
“Our goal is making sure the 911 process is as efficient as possible and making sure the end users get the fast service that they need,” Washington said at Tuesday’s meeting. “We know that time matters, and so we’re trying to find where there are minutes, seconds in the process that we could shave this down.”
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