HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 9276 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9276
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council July 20, 2010
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SUBJECT: CONSULTANT'S REPORT ON THE ASSESSMENT OF
AMBULANCE SERVICE DELIVERY IN FORT WORTH
On August 18, 2009, City Council approved M&C C-23727 which authorized the execution of a
professional services agreement with The Polaris Group, to perform an assessment of
ambulance service delivery in the City of Fort Worth. The Polaris Group has completed the
assessment and has filed a final report which is included in a package with this IR.
The Polaris Group did a lengthy and detailed study of our current service delivery and compared
it with a number of other emergency medical service providers in the region. The following cities
and systems were surveyed: Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Arlington, Emergency Medical
Service Authority (EMSA) of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and Metropolitan Ambulance Services
Trust (MAST) of Kansas City, Missouri.
The consultant indicates in his finding that "MedStar is technically compliant with the Uniform
EMS Ordinance and Interlocal Agreement and currently achieves levels of response time
performance that are consistent with the expectations established for the operation, after
adjusting for the elimination of the overload calculation exemption."
The Polaris Group also makes the following recommendations in the final report:
1. Fort Worth should remain a member of AMAA (the Area Metropolitan Ambulance
Authority) and MedStar, using its majority position on the Board to influence service levels
and costs.
2. Fort Worth should eliminate tax subsidy of MedStar, allowing full rates to support the
operation during the next fiscal year and for the foreseeable future.
3. Despite certain recommended methods found in the Fitch Report, MedStar should
continue to innovate and adapt its deployment practices to improve performance.
4. MedStar should continue the current trends in response time improvement and expand the
Community Health Paramedic program to improve healthcare access and reduce needless
ambulance responses.
5. MedStar has begun to effectively address personnel concerns through remediation and
replacement of some paramedics and staff that are performing below expectations. These
efforts must continue.
6. MedStar should follow GAAP standards when reporting financial information to the Board
to reduce differences in reported results.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9276
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council July 20, 2010
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Page 2 of 2
a
r SUBJECT: CONSULTANT'S REPORT ON THE ASSESSMENT OF
AMBULANCE SERVICE DELIVERY IN FORT WORTH
7. MedStar and the Board should consider opportunities for revenue enhancement through
standby services and contracts.
8. The Cities should consider modifying the Ordinance to grant exclusive rights to MedStar
for ambulance standby services.
9. The Medical Director should continue to serve as an ex officio member of the AMAA Board
but without voting rights.
10.EPAB's annual funding should become part of the AMAA budget process and require
AMAA Board approval to enhance public accountability.
The recommendations from the Report will be presented to the AMAA Board of Directors at the
July 28th meeting for their consideration. Other issues/recommendations contained in the Report
will be discussed during the City's budget process.
If you have any questions regarding the report, the consultant is available to answer them by
phone, or return to Fort Worth for further discussions. Please direct any questions for the
consultant through Carl Smart, Executive Assistant, at 817-392-6525 or
carl.smartCa-)-fortworthgov.org.
Dale A. Fis le/r, P.E.
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS