By Dan McKay
The Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Bernalillo County officials plan to seek a permit they say would make it easier for their own paramedics to take patients directly to the hospital.
A private nonprofit group, Albuquerque Ambulance, now handles that service. But the county says its Fire Department rescue vehicles are better equipped to transport patients in the East Mountains, especially in bad weather.
In some cases, the county units end up transporting a patient initially, then handing him or her off to an ambulance in town, or even taking the patient all the way to the hospital, Deputy County Manager John Dantis said. That’s happening more often, he said, so it makes sense to seek a “certificate of transport” from the state Public Regulation Commission.
“If there’s inclement weather or rough terrain, we’re the only ones that can get to them,” Dantis said.
Sometimes, private ambulances aren’t immediately available anyway, he said.
Todd Sandman — a spokesman for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, which oversees Albuquerque Ambulance - said the company is meeting the response times required in its contract and serving residents well.
“Albuquerque Ambulance is a nationally accredited provider,” Sandman said. “There are very few of those in the region.”
The county and Albuquerque Ambulance, he said, have worked together since the early 1990s. They have an “inclement weather agreement” in which county vehicles respond to rural areas in the mountains, and an ambulance picks up the patient at the closest safe place, he said.
“We just don’t see the need” for the county to get its own certificate for transport, Sandman said.
Dantis said the certificate would allow the county to seek reimbursement from patients when it transports them, or the county could hire someone to do the work.
Commissioner Michael Brasher said he supports filing an application with the PRC.
Copyright 2009 Albuquerque Journal