By Leila Merrill
ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. — Alameda County Emergency Management Services assessed a financial penalty against Falck Alameda County in October for not meeting its contractual service levels, the Independent News reported.
Since response times did not meet the standard in September, the county agency issued a fine of $215,000.
ALCO EMS has been critical of Falck’s performance lately, including response times. Director Lauri McFadden told Falck to submit a corrective action plan. ALCO EMS rejected a first draft of the plan earlier this fall but accepted a revised draft on Oct. 29.
“Falck is committed to making steady improvements in line with our commitment to provide Alameda County residents and visitors with the best possible emergency medical care and transportation,” said Jeff Lucia, Falck USA director of marketing and communications, in an email to The Independent. “The initiatives will take time to have a significant effect, but we hope to see improvement quickly.”
According to Lucia, the improvement plan includes reducing the time required to transfer a patient from an ambulance to a hospital emergency department; improving staffing and improving operations.