Murrieta Pushes for In-House Ambulance Service

As the contract term between Riverside County and its ambulance provider comes to an end this year, the City of Murrieta is seeking to provide its own service through the Murrieta Fire Department.

Service to Murrieta is currently provided by American Medical Response (AMR)--the largest provider in the U.S.--through a contract initiated by Riverside County Emergency Medical Services Agency. The county's contract began with AMR in 1998, and has been extended every three years since.

Murrieta's fire chief and city management say its an opportune time for the city to step out on its own.

"While staff has been generally content with the level of service provided by AMR, there are important provisions that likely could not be modified to the City's satisfaction in the current agreement," writes Brian Ambrose, senior management analyst for the city of Murrieta, in a report to be shared with City Council tonight.

The city cites several reasons it is capable of providing this service in an Aug. 8 letter to a county ad hoc committee charged with the decision.

The letter, signed by City Manager Rick Dudley and Fire Chief Matt Shobert, points out that Murrieta Fire crews have at least one paramedic assigned to each call, and that response times for the department are at six minutes, 30 seconds. AMR's contracted response time with the county is nine minutes, 59 seconds, 90 percent of the time, the letter states.

"While AMR has met the contract requirements in most areas of our city, they do not meet the response standard in Bear Creek 50 percent of the time," the letter states. "As you might imagine, this is not acceptable, especially considering the number of elderly residents in the area."

Murrieta officials also question AMR employees' familiarity with the city, as "the current ambulance provider regularly rotates personnel through our zone.

"This has created delays in the past when drivers, unfamiliar with the area, took longer to arrive on the scene of an incident."

Further, the city states that because fire personnel are usually the first to arrive on scene, time is lost in briefing AMR paramedics when they arrive.

AMR currently assigns two ambulances to Murrieta; one is stationed at Fire Station No. 2 on California Oaks Road and Hancock Avenue. In the letter, the city points out that the unit was recently not staffed for two days because of AMR staffing levels.

The station responds to all medical calls at The Colony, one of the largest 55 and older communities in the region with more than 1,500 homes, the letter states.

"When a resident of Murrieta calls 911 for emergency services, they demand a very high level of care. Our first responders, the firefighters of the Murrieta Fire Department, already provide this exceptional care," the letter states.