Emergency Services Plan to keep Medic One rolling




	April 16, 2001 Emergency Services Plan to keep Medic One rolling King County Executive Ron Sims joined with city, fire and medical officials from around the County today to announce task force recommendations for the continued successful operation and funding of the nationally recognized regional Medic One system. The Medic One emergency medical services system provides uniform care anywhere in King County, wherever residents live, work, shop or play, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. “We must ensure the continuation of efficient and high quality emergency medical services, and be able to meet the growing demand for Medic One services as our population both grows and ages,” said Sims. “A task force of County, cities, and fire districts today recommends reauthorizing a dedicated six-year levy to maintain the best Medic One emergency medical services system in the nation. We can accomplish this with a levy rate roughly equal to the current rate,” he added. “The Task Force studied many options for paying for these services, but after studying all the alternative ways of paying for this system, the Task Force agreed that continuing the levy for the next six years as state law allows is the only viable alternative.” Sims, joined by Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County; Dr. Michael Copass, Chief of Emergency Medicine, Harborview Medical Center; Shoreline Fire Chief J.B. Smith; Acting Seattle Fire Chief Gregory Dean; King County Councilwoman Louise Miller; and King County Councilman Greg Nickels, announced the Task Force recommendations to reauthorize a dedicated property tax levy of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for six years to maintain the existing Medic One system. This would fund the addition of new paramedic units in Seattle, North King County, the Eastside and South King County over the next six years. This levy will generate up to $50 million per year to support the regional system of 35 fire departments and six paramedic providers. It is projected that the proposed six-year regular property tax levy will collect $325 million over the life of the levy. In 1997, a levy to support Medic One failed to receive the 60 percent validation requirement, although a subsequent 1998 levy passed overwhelmingly by 81 percent. As a result, two task forces were established to review Emergency Medical Services operations and alternative funding options to ensure stable and secure funding. After reviewing various funding options ranging from specific taxes to fees for service, the Task Force recommended levy funding as the preferred method because other options failed to generate sufficient funds to maintain or grow the system, and other options would require changes in Washington state law. "We took a close look at the efficiency and the effectiveness of Medic One," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director for Public Health - Seattle & King County, and member of the Task Force. "What we found was a world-class system that continues to do extraordinary work in protecting the public's health, and doing so very economically. Even so, the Task Force also identified ways to make our system even better, and we look forward to pursuing these initiatives in the near future." These initiatives include: Telephone Referral Project - triaging an identified set of low-risk calls to a 24-hour nurse line (example: child getting a small toy stuck in his/her ear or nose); and Dispatch Triage Revisions - an effort to review and improve dispatch coding for the higher-cost Medic One units, lead by program medical directors. Cities with a population greater than 50,000 (Seattle, Kent, Renton, Bellevue, Shoreline and Federal Way) must authorize King County to place the measure on the November general election ballot. State law requires a 40 percent validation with a 60 percent approval or yes vote. Seattle Medic One was established in 1969, and expanded to the remainder of King County in the 1970’s. Medic One is a regional emergency medical response system of 911 dispatchers that triage calls for service and can provide CPR and other emergency care instructions over the telephone while EMS units are en route, basic life support services provided by 35 fire departments, and paramedic services that respond to serious and potentially life threatening calls. Currently there are 22 paramedic units located countywide. Total calls for assistance in 2000 were 143,000 (over 390 calls per day), of which 50,000 were serious or potentially life threatening requiring a paramedic response. The complete Emergency Medical Services Strategic Plan Task Force report can be found online, at your.kingcounty.gov/health/ems/taskforce. Updated: April 16, 2001 Executive's home \| Executive's news Executive's e-mail King County \| Executive \| News \| Services \| Comments \| Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. By visiting this and other King County web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site. The details.