Jan. 20--The director of the Arizona Department of Health Services has granted approval for the city of Yuma to provide emergency ambulance services within the city in a decision handed down Thursday.
The decision by DHS Director Will Humble culminated a two-year effort by the Yuma Fire Department to be granted a certificate of necessity to become the city's provider for emergency transport services. In reaching his ruling, Humble rejected the administrative law judge's recommendation last month that the city's application for a CON be denied.
A CON granted by DHS is required for an entity to provide ambulance services.
Until now Rural/Metro has been the holder of the only CON to provide both emergency and non-emergency ambulance transport services within the city. According to the city, Yuma is the only city in Arizona with a population of more than 25,000 that has only one ambulance service provider.
Fire Chief Jack McAuthur said Thursday he expects YFD to begin offering the service by spring after consulting with DHS and Rural/Metro to establish an acceptable date and to ensure a smooth transition.
"We have all the ambulances we need and the personnel to get started," McAuthur said. "We've been ready for some time."
He noted that YFD's taking on the emergency transport service will provide an "efficiency of operations" of its rolling stock and personnel as its emergency medical teams already are the first responders at the scene of an emergency.
City Administrator Greg Wilkinson said Humble's decision is welcome news for the city and its residents.
"All through the process, we were optimistic we met all five requirements and the Department of Health Services would grant us a CON," Wilkinson said. "We will be able to put a quality transport service together. Now we will have two service providers instead of one."
Josh Weiss, director of pubic relations for the Rural/Metro Corporation, said the provider "will be considering its options going forward."
In his decision, Humble listed 11 findings of fact, noting that YFD "has the expertise, integrity, fiscal competence and resources to provide ambulance service in the city of Yuma."
Humble also stated that "the testimony and record establish that public necessity requires the ALS (advance life support) service within the city of Yuma proposed by YFD." His findings note that YFD can meet a faster response time for ambulance calls than Rural/Metro and it has adequate ambulances to handle the peak call load during the winter visitor season.
He also noted YFD has been the emergency first responder for several years, and that its personnel sometimes ride along in the Rural/Metro ambulance with the patient and that YFD equipment sometimes is used to transport.
"Notwithstanding the financial impact on Rural/Metro, I find that the benefit to the health and safety of Yuma's permanent residents and visitors outweighs the financial impact on Rural/Metro with regard to ALS services," Humble said.
Accordingly, he concluded, "application EMS No. 3493 is granted for YFD to provide ALS service within the boundaries of the city of Yuma as analyzed and agreed to by the department." That will include unincorporated Yuma County islands.
Joyce Lobeck can be reached at [email protected] or 539-6853. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/jlobeck or on Twitter at @YSJoyceLobeck.
Copyright 2012 - The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.
