Ambulance service, 911 would get calls at nearly same time
By KELLY ADAMS
The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington)
Copyright 2006 The Columbian Publishing Co.
After 18 months, officials at AMR Northwest are asking to end their contract for dispatch services with the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency, which operates the 911 center.
The company that provides emergency transportation in much of Clark County plans to go back to dispatching its ambulances.
“We’re looking at ways to be efficient,” said Dave Fuller, AMR’s director of operations for Clark County.
During the last 18 months, CRESA has contacted drivers directly to respond to calls requiring ambulances. AMR Northwest is proposing to go back to a system that allows the company to dispatch ambulances directly.
Fuller said their dispatchers will have more complete information about calls and where all of the ambulances are at any given time.
AMR dispatchers receive information at nearly the same time the CRESA center does, Fuller said.
Doug Smith, the emergency medical services manager for CRESA, said people using the ambulance service would not be affected.
“They won’t notice any difference at all,” he said.
CRESA will see a difference in their budget. This year, AMR paid CRESA $103,322, and next year’s contract called for AMR to pay CRESA $117,000.
The contract represents about 2 percent of CRESA’s operating budget, said John Talbot, CRESA’s assistant director.
That is not much of a hit, and the best patient care is a goal the two organizations share, he said.
AMR Northwest is one of three agencies that provide ambulance service in the county. North Country Emergency Medical Services and the Camas Fire Department also provide ambulance service.