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American Medical Response, the beleaguered ambulance contractor that faces fines in Multnomah County for short staffing and poor performance, is already running into similar problems in Washington County. It just took over the ambulance service contract there in August.
In a Nov. 2 email obtained by WW, Forest Grove Fire Chief Jim Geering, who oversees the Cornelius Fire Department as well, said he was fed up with AMR’s tardy ambulances—which were forcing his staff to neglect other duties to transport patients to hospitals.
“We are taking firefighters away from the fire engine they are assigned to,” he wrote. “We can no longer support this level of risk to our public’s safety.”
The two cities each operate one ambulance that responds to 911 calls and, when AMR isn’t available, transports patients to the hospital.
Beginning in December, Geering wrote, both cities would “remove our ambulance transport vehicle identifiers from an ‘available status’ in our 9-1-1 center CAD system.”
Geering and Cornelius city manager Peter Brandom tell WW that ambulances would remain on call to respond to emergencies. “There’s absolutely no reason for anyone in our communities to be concerned about diminished public safety,” Brandom said.
But he had harsher words for AMR. “They need to figure out how to get themselves staffed and, if they can’t staff internally, contract with another private company and fill the gaps.”
WW has previously examined the struggles of AMR, and the debts it has incurred under the ownership of private equity. Such debt increases the difficulty of staffing the ambulances.
AMR says it plans to be fully staffed by the end of the year: “One of AMR’s goals was to relieve the fire department from having to transport patients from emergency scenes, and we feel the removal of their ambulances from the 911 CAD is a step in the right direction.”