By Mark Glover
The Sacramento Bee
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — First Responder EMS-Sacramento Inc., which provides ambulance and emergency medical services throughout the area, plans to close its operations later this year, with a loss of 66 jobs.
Confirmation of the layoffs came in the form of a standard “WARN Act” letter received by the California Employment Development Department on June 30. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires large businesses to give early warning of layoffs and closures.
The letter, signed by First Responder EMS-Sacramento Inc. CEO Byron Parsons, says “employment separations are expected to begin on or about Aug. 31. … We anticipate that these plans, when finalized, would be permanent and that the entire facility will be closed.”
Attempts to get comment from First Responder officials on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
An attachment to the First Responder letter to EDD lists the following job eliminations: six paramedics, 37 emergency medical technicians, eight dispatchers, three drivers, nine managers/supervisors, two registered nurses and one auto mechanic.
Samantha Mott, a spokeswoman with the Sacramento County Department of Health & Human Services, said in an email that the company was one of 13 ambulance providers for the Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services System. Four of the providers are fire departments and are responsible for responding within the 911 system with support from American Medical Response.
First Responder EMS’ role provided inter-facility transfers and low-acuity transfers from nursing facilities to hospitals, she said.
Jason Brollini, president of United EMS Workers, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4911, based in Livermore, said Tuesday that the union, which represents workers in Sacramento, had been notified of the upcoming closure.
He said the closure notification “came out of the blue. It was a complete surprise to us.”
Brollini said union representatives will be meeting with the company “to discuss options,” including possible placement of workers with other emergency/transportation-services providers in throughout Northern California.
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