Westmed Draws Ire In Big Sur, California

Feb. 27--Proposed cuts to the county's ambulance service have drawn a loud response, including heavy criticism from a variety of sources during the past week.

Paramedics have picketed in front of ambulance provider Westmed Ambulance Inc.'s main offices to protest the changes they call "dangerous."

Residents of rural areas have spoken out about the effect longer response times could have on their safety.

And Salinas Fire Chief Ed Montez issued a statement Monday in an attempt to reassure residents they won't see any change in their paramedic service.

But the rising tide of protest emanating from Big Sur has all but drowned out those complaints.

Big Sur residents said they are outraged by a Westmed suggestion -- which is supported by the county's Emergency Medical Services Council -- that the far-flung community should lose its historic access to full ambulance service.

Under the proposed cutback, Big Sur's fully-staffed, full-time ambulance would be replaced by a quick-response vehicle. Instead of a paramedic and an emergency medical technician who can treat the ill or injured and immediately transport them to the hospital, a lone paramedic would respond to emergencies.

The paramedic could treat the patient but would have to wait up to 90 minutes for an ambulance to show up and take the ill or injured to the hospital.

Today, the supervisors are set to review the proposed Big Sur ambulance service cutback, along with a series of other proposed changes, during their 1:30 p.m. session.

Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade assistant chief Martha Karstens said the supervisors can expect to see a large contingent of Big Sur residents.

Karstens said the brigade teamed up with the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce to send out a flier urging residents to contact supervisors and other elected representatives in protest.

"We'll be there in force," Karstens said. "Any less level of service is unacceptable. We really do think lives will be lost due to extended response times. It's not worth someone's life."

Supervisor Dave Potter said his office has been inundated with calls from people vehemently opposed to the proposed change. And that's during the winter, not when Big Sur's population "swells to the size of a small city," Potter added

"We've received more phone calls on this issue than any other in the 10 years I've been in office, and that includes the general plan," Potter said. "What you have with the other rural areas is a small change in response times, but what you have with Big Sur is taking out an ambulance to take people to the hospital. That's just not acceptable."

Potter pointed out that an ambulance stationed at the mouth of Carmel Valley would be 45 minutes away from Post Ranch, where the current full-service ambulance is stationed, which would mean an average round trip of more than an hour and a half for the most patients.

"It's a long way there and a long way back, and that's on a good day," he said. "That kind of response is not really a response."

Potter pointed out that a quick response vehicle couldn't even transport patients to a place where a helicopter could land to fly them out.

Karstens added that the county's ambulance service also is responsible for covering Big Sur as far south as Plaskett Creek, which is another 45 minutes past Post Ranch.

A 36-year resident of Big Sur and a 16-year veteran of the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, Karstens said the community has enjoyed full ambulance service since 1959.

A local woman spearheaded the effort to get the service in Big Sur after her daughter, who had been injured in an automobile accident, died while waiting for an ambulance, Karstens said.

Until 1990, the American Red Cross provided a volunteer-staffed ambulance for the area, she said. In 1990, a tax measure was passed that was supposed to pay for private ambulance service for Big Sur, Karstens said, and the area has had it ever since.

"We've had 47 years of ambulance service," she said. "It's not like it's new service."

Westmed chief executive officer Allen Cress said the Big Sur ambulance simply doesn't see enough action to make it cost-effective, even during the busy summer months.

"I understand that there's a big influx of people in the summer, but you have to understand how that translates to calls," he said.

Cress added that Westmed could deploy a full-time ambulance to Big Sur during the summer months to meet the increased demand for service. But he acknowledged that is not something the supervisors are considering, and any such deployment would be at Westmed's discretion.

He said his company has decided to wait until after the supervisors' decision to replace Big Sur's full-time ambulance. Originally, he said the plan was to remove it before the supervisors made their decision.

Cress said he believes the supervisors might decide to accept all the EMS Council's recommendations regarding Westmed's proposed changes with the exception of the Big Sur ambulance. If that happens, he said he expects the supervisors to come up with a way to fund the Big Sur ambulance.

After Westmed reported losing more than $2 million during the first year of its five-year contract to provide the county's ambulance service, the supervisors agreed to bail out the Irvine-based company with an immediate loan of about $280,000 to meet payroll in January. The board also agreed to provide a total of up to $1 million in reimbursable financial assistance to Westmed.

The company took over for American Medical Response in January 2006, then asked for a series of system changes, including longer response time requirements in certain areas of the county.

The changes, according to Westmed officials, combined with employee benefits adjustments, will help the company save about $1.4 million this year, which will allow it to break even and begin paying the county back.

Meanwhile, a task force will work on overhauling the county's emergency medical response system and plans to introduce changes to make the system more cost-effective by the end of the year.

------

If you go --What:Board of Supervisors to discuss Westmed Ambulance service --When:1:30 p.m. --Where:Monterey County administrative building, Salinas

Jim Johnson can be reached at 753-6753 or .

Copyright (c) 2007, The Monterey County Herald, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email , call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.