Perspectives on addressing Multnomah County ambulance delays amid staffing woes

Last month, Multnomah County fined ambulance service provider AMR more than $500,000 for slow response times to emergency 911 calls. According to its exclusive contract service with the county, AMR is required to respond to 90% of life-threatening calls within 8 minutes in urban areas. But in August, AMR ambulances were delayed in responding to 14% of emergency calls. The company has appealed the fine and claims the problem is largely due to the county’s staffing requirement of two paramedics per ambulance. In Washington, Clackamas and Clark counties, for example, no such requirement exists, and AMR is able to staff ambulances with one paramedic and an EMT.Meanwhile, there’s a growing shortage of EMTs and paramedics across the nation, including Oregon, which community colleges are helping to address through training courses. Joining us to talk about these issues are Dr. Paul Lewis, deputy health officer for Multnomah County; Randy Lauer, vice president of operations for AMR; and Dave Schapp, EMS programs director at Central Oregon Community College in Bend.