By Bill Carey
EMS1
MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Ore. — Multnomah County officials are seeing improvements in EMS three months after they and AMR agreed to change staffing to one EMT and one paramedic to make more ambulances available and reduce response times.
AMR has not yet met the county’s response time benchmarks, but the company reported that its metrics are improving, KGW8 reported.
Since 2022, AMR ambulances have often missed county response time standards, with thousands of “Level Zero” incidents where no ambulances were available, KGW8 reported. After two and a half years of debate over paramedic shortages, a compromise has improved relations.
AMR presented data to commissioners showing improvements in response times and ambulance staffing, with a marked decrease in “Level Zero” incidents. In early August, AMR averaged around 20 hours per week at “Level Zero,” but this dropped significantly following the new hybrid staffing model and increased EMT hires. From October 20 to October 26, AMR reported just 26 minutes at “Level Zero.”
AMR Commissioners Slide Deck Final by Lexipol_Media_Group on Scribd
Officials have brought up concerns about how AMR has achieved its improved response times and metrics, KGW8 reports. Teamsters Local 223, the union representing AMR paramedics and EMTs, sent a letter to the county stating that newly hired EMTs “have gaps” and “lack quality in their training.”
“I’m not sure I’m surprised at seeing that concern at this point either, they were under a tight timeframe to hire a very large number of people, had to expect we’d see issues,” Multnomah County EMS Health Officer Operations Manager Aaron Monnig said. “As they become more fully staffed we’ll probably see that be addressed.”
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