National Emergency Medical Services Week May 17-23
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The Future of Western Lane Ambulance District From May 17th through May 23rd we celebrate EMS week and acknowledge members of our Emergency Medical Services teams that provide lifesaving medical care to those in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week. On behalf of our board of directors, we recognize and applaud the outstanding services provided by our team at Western Lane Ambulance District especially as they put their lives on the line to serve us during the Coronavirus pandemic. And, on behalf of our front-line providers, I want to thank you, our public, for your support and understanding during this difficult time. We truly will get through this together. Looking ahead to the next several years, our District faces several challenges as our call volume continues to increase while our population both grows and ages. Last year we responded to 3,843 calls, a volume that was more than 9% over the prior year and twice the call volume we had in the late 1990’s. At the same time, reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid and from property taxes are not keeping up with volume increases and with the inflationary increases in cost in general. This makes it especially important that we work to get the most from the resources we have in order to balance our budget and provide resources for replacement of equipment including ambulances. We are committed to continue to operate efficiently and effectively. We will do this is by continuing to hire and retain quality employees, those that know their jobs, and know the area. We will also continue to partner with other agencies to better utilize our combined resources. To that end, Western Lane Ambulance District has partnered with Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue to share administrative services for both Districts. We are hopeful this model will create efficiencies in our operations, but the long term benefits to the community will also include improved coordination of services and cross training for
emergency responses. We have partnered with Peace Health and the Peace Harbor Medical Center Foundation to create the new Mobile Integrated Healthcare provider service. Mobile Integrated healthcare aims to deliver high quality and more costeffective medical care by coordinating resources among emergency medical services providers, hospitals, in-home care providers and insurance companies. We have also recently partnered with community organizations and the Oregon Health Authority to create a new Mobile Crisis Response team to aid those experiencing significant mental health crisis issues. Regardless of the challenges we face, the vision for the Western Lane Ambulance District continues to be to “provide superior and compassionate services to each and every community member through a forward thinking, highly trained team of professionals”. We will continue to partner with you, our community members, to meet the vision of Western Lane Ambulance District. Sincerely, Rick Yecny, Board President Western Lane Ambulance District
A note from the Operations Chief “To provide quick, efficient, professional emergency medical services, transport, and community education with the highest standards of excellence.” This has been Western Lane Ambulance District Mission statement for the past 4 decades, realizing that we will never be perfect, it is the pursuit of perfection that drives our organization to excellence. I’d like to take the opportunity to update the citizens of our District how we strive for that excellence. Currently, we have 15 full time Medics to provide care, of those 15 employees, 10 are critically care trained to give an even higher level of care versus the standard certified Medics. Critical Care Paramedics are trained in Hemodynamic Monitoring, Ventilator management, expanded IV medication infusions, as well as more education on human pathophysiology. The dedication and training that goes into this is an immense undertaking. The employees demonstrate this dedication daily, they truly want the best for their patients and work hard behind the scenes to pursue that perfection. To further our patient care, the district has always strived to have the best medical equipment and ambulances available. To this date, our fleet consists of 2 transfer ambulances, 3 fully equipped first out ambulances, and a Rescue vehicle for sand dune patient extrications. Our Public Education programs were very active over the past year in educating the community in stroke, heart, and trauma prevention programs. We continue to offer monthly CPR classes, this year we added American Heart
Association CPR so that we can offer a wider range of classes to the community. We also provided child restraint safety devices to community members and educated on how to ensure they are properly placed in vehicles. Continuing forward, Public Education is a priority for a healthier community. Lastly, an update on the Mobile Integrate Health Program (Community Paramedic). In conjunction with PeaceHealth, we are entering our third year with this program. The Mobile Integrated Healthcare employee has been very active in treating patients that have been recognized for potential risk of 30-day readmissions, high Emergency Department utilizer patients, or high EMS utilizer patients. The MIH program has also been very successful bridging healthcare gaps and needs in Palliative care and Home Health Care. The program has been very successful bridging gaps in the local healthcare system. Matt House Western Lane Fire and EMS Operations Chief
Letter from Matt Danigelis, MD As the medical director of the Western Lane Ambulance District, I have had numerous opportunities to observe the EMTs and paramedics. These providers consistently demonstrate competence, efficiency, and an empathetic approach to patient care. Their dedication to the goal of providing the best possible care is evident on a daily basis. Whether participating in quality improvement measures, community education, or pursuing critical care certification, which the vast majority of our medics have achieved, their dedication to their craft is without question. As the coronavi-
rus pandemic spreads throughout the country and indeed the world, our EMS system has taken the initiative in best preparing our district for the challenges that lie ahead. It has been my privilege to serve as the medical director of an ambulance district that is committed to best serving the needs of our community. Sincerely, Matt Danigelis, MD