Will Portsmouth Ambulance Answer the City’s Call?
Portsmouth Ohio Fire Chief William Raison, flanked by other representatives of their leadership, has publicly voiced their concerns about the lack of manpower and ability to answer calls. “We really are in a bad way. Our call volume has increased exponentially.” Chief Raison said. You can get caught up by reading our comprehensive article here.
The heat got turned up when Eric Grimm, the secretary-treasurer of the Portsmouth Firefighters Association said “I’m concerned our cries for help are falling on deaf ears”. He also told the Council members about an EMS call that took 23 minutes to get a response. Grimm said his opinion was, 23 minutes to respond to a 911 medical emergency call is unacceptable, as a city, to provide to its people.
City Manager, Sam Sutherland, took great exception to the “deaf ears” comment when it was his turn to speak in the meeting. Sutherland has outlined the importance of trying to get the city out of “Fiscal Watch” and has warned let the state of Ohio could reclassify the city to a state of “Fiscal Emergency”.
An emotional atmosphere reigned over both sides, and a separate discussion of the 14th Street Community Center turned back into this one.
Portsmouth City Mayor, Kevin E. Johnson, used his leadership role to make a strong statement amidst the finger-pointing. Johnson said of Sutherland, “When you hire a person for a job, you listen to them”.
Throughout the meeting, Portsmouth Ambulance executives sat quietly in the front row. Councilman Sean Dunne invited Portsmouth Ambulance’s Michael Adkins to take the microphone and share his observations.
Adkins pointed out that medical services have several business models, and they are currently operating as a transportation company with SOMC as their main customer. In addition, he explained that they do provide services to a number of townships. Chief Raison noted that many times the city has requested assistance from them only to be informed there are no units available. Adkins reinforced that they could and would help, but it is not their current operating model.
The conversation led to a council and Q&A about the possibilities. Adkins offered to schedule crews to help the city. The city would have to pay a subsidy for that option. That subsidy would not be paid for responding to calls but rather having a truck and crew ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Other options were discussed including a rotation, daily guarantee of calls, and Adkins’ request to have access to the radio band from the Portsmouth Fire Department so they would know when the city’s ambulance crews were out and could try to better prepare for an incoming call.
The conversation concluded with a confirmed meeting between Portsmouth Fire, Portsmouth Ambulance, and the City Manager.
Can an agreement be reached? Will Portsmouth Ambulance change its business model to assist the city? We will certainly keep you updated.
