3 weeks ago
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MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Big changes whitethorn beryllium headed to Merced County's exigency response.
The Board of Supervisors is acceptable to ballot connected the county's ambulance services Tuesday morning.
Riggs Ambulance Service has been the sole EMS supplier for much than 70 years. Michael Swenson is the operations manager for the institution and says the determination to perchance regenerate Riggs comes aft officials enactment successful a Request For Proposal (RFP) for ambulance services.
"The RFP came retired successful May of this year," helium explained. "On Aug. 18 is erstwhile we benignant of recovered retired that they were going to spell with different company. And so, from that point, we've conscionable benignant of been putting unneurotic our protests and trying to entreaty everything."
Swenson says Riggs was told they were retired of compliance and successful breach of their declaration for effect times during the pandemic.
"We were fixed exemptions successful 2020 and 2021 for compliance, wherever we did not person to conscionable those. So, to accidental that we didn't deed compliance when, for a year, we were escaped of compliance and you inactive clumped successful those months and those quarters to justify, 'Hey, they didn't deed compliance, this is wherefore we're doing an RFP.' I don't consciousness that's fair," helium said.
He admits they were short-staffed astatine the time, but adds Riggs tried everything to propulsion paramedics backmost in.
"We had had, you know, post-COVID benignant of immoderate staffing issues, arsenic a batch of radical did, particularly successful Merced County. It was a struggling area. We conscionable didn't person the paramedics," helium explained. "We adjacent had $20,000 sign-on bonuses to effort to bring successful paramedics from extracurricular areas. And we got 2 oregon three, but we didn't adjacent person applicants."
Swenson says they present person much than capable passionate workers signing up to assistance others.
"We knew the reply would beryllium our ain homegrown EMTs turning into paramedics, and luckily, they did. They wanted to bash that. We sent implicit 20 students to school. They each present enactment for us," helium said. "We consciousness we fixed each the problems, which is what they benignant of went retired to bash with this RFP and to possibly bring successful a caller contractor."
The fig of exigency responders with vale roots is what Swenson believes Merced County volition hazard losing by going with different provider.
"The incoming company, they whitethorn support immoderate of our EMTs, immoderate paramedics. They mightiness determination our dispatch halfway retired of Merced County," helium said. "The billing halfway could beryllium gone oregon volition beryllium gone. But they usually outsource that, adjacent sometimes retired of the country. So those jobs, you know, they don't travel back. And we person immoderate radical implicit astatine our billing bureau that person been astatine Riggs for implicit 20 years. Somebody conscionable retired past year. That was a 30-year employee. So, it's similar keeping that local versus if you're outsourcing it oregon if you're dispatch centers."
Because of their extended past wrong the county, Swenson says going with different supplier who whitethorn beryllium unfamiliar with the country could effect successful delays and different antagonistic impacts connected the community.
"We're 1 of the oldest successful the nation. So having that alteration of work tin ever person immoderate effect connected the region and the residents," helium noted. "We didn't locomotion distant during COVID. We didn't locomotion distant erstwhile we had to get question paramedics, erstwhile we had to bash $20,000 signing bonuses. We're present successful Merced done whatever. We're not going to spell anywhere."
So far, they've gathered letters and much than 1,700 signatures of support.
"We similar to say, you know, radical implicit profits, we are each astir diligent attraction and taking attraction of this community," Swenson said.
