MERRIAM HIGHLIGHTS Published for Merriam Residents & Businesses
WINTER 2013 | SPRING 2014
Advanced life support is just around the corner Have you ever had to call 911 for an ambulance? Were you surprised to see a Merriam police officer, a Merriam fire truck, and a Johnson County Med-Act ambulance respond to your residence?
respond to the rising percentage of medical times and enhanced service provided by calls handled by the fire department. highly trained personnel.
At the same time, the City of Overland Park was evaluating contractual agreements to provide fire services for the portion of their We are fortunate to live in an area where so city north of Johnson Drive. much help can arrive in only a few minutes. The result -- a fire service agreement between The Merriam Fire Department has offered Merriam and Overland Park that would Basic Life Support (BLS) for our community create a mutually beneficial partnership since 1947, and all of Merriam’s firefighters between the cities, and enhanced services are trained emergency medical technicians for our residents. (EMT). Last year, the department responded to over 1,200 calls for medical assistance. “Due to an aging demographic in our community, we have seen a steady increase in the number of medical calls we respond to each year,” says Merriam Fire Chief Bob Pape. In fact, according to Merriam Fire Chief Bob Pape, approximately 75% to 80% of calls for service in Merriam are medical in nature. “It’s changed the way we train firefighters and merited further consideration on how we respond to those calls,” says Pape. So earlier this year, the City of Merriam formed a task force to determine how we could better utilize our resources and
Instead of sending large expensive fire suppression equipment to a medical call, the ALS model sends a quick response vehicle (a Chevrolet Tahoe) that is smaller and more fuel efficient, capable of arriving on the scene more quickly and safer. Along with carrying all the necessary advanced life saving equipment, this vehicle will be staffed with a squad of two firefighters; an Overland Park firefighter who has additional certification as a paramedic, and a Merriam firefighter with the additional certification of an emergency medical technician (EMT).
“We are excited about the opportunity at hand and the possibility of offering our residents this service enhancement,” says City Administrator Phil Lammers. “The proposed ALS model also offers economic efficiencies Beginning January 1, 2014, Merriam and with faster response times, better trained Overland Park will join forces to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) first response in personnel, and smaller responding vehicles that require less fuel and maintenance than the combined service area. ALS provides a paramedic level of service the large fire trucks currently deployed.” and allows for advanced medical protocols As part of this collaborative agreement, such as IV administration, EKG monitoring, Merriam will respond to all EMS and fire and cardiac drug administration. This model related calls in north Overland Park. In allows for greater efficiencies in response exchange, Overland Park has agreed to provide all the equipment and the vehicle to respond as an ALS squad. They have also agreed to provide all EMS, fire and special technical training to all our firefighters. As a result of this collaboration, we have both been able to provide an increased level of service to our citizens with a minimal impact to our budget. The two cities plan to evaluate the service model in 2014, and explore the possibility for further collaborative opportunities in the delivery of fire and medical services in the future. For more information, visit the City’s website, www.merriam.org.
CITY OF MERRIAM, KANSAS 9001 W 62nd STREET MERRIAM, KS 66202-2815
www.merriam.org | (913) 322-5500 | CityofMerriam@merriam.org
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