Mayor Mattie Parker | City of Fort Worth website
Mayor Mattie Parker | City of Fort Worth website
On Tuesday, members of the Fort Worth City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Emergency Medical Response met. The committee was introduced to the consultant that will conduct an evaluation of the City’s EMS system, requested more data to establish baseline response times, and discussed the process that will be used to provide transitional funding dollars to MedStar. Transitional dollars are intended to ensure MedStar continues to provide the same level of patient-centric care while the EMS evaluation is being completed.
The evaluation from the consultant and the need for transitional funding were generated by several factors. Some factors were the reductions in healthcare revenues and serving a patient population that includes patients who either cannot or will not pay, forcing MedStar to spend approximately $350,000 per month in reserves to keep the EMS system operating.
The Fort Worth City Council awarded the contract for the EMS study to Fitch & Associates on October 31st. Fitch is a well-known public safety consulting firm and has worked with various municipalities and public sector clients. Their evaluation of the EMS system will include a review of MedStar’s current organizational structure, processes, financials, call volume, facilities and member city needs.
“Establishing baselines for response times is one of the committee’s first priorities during this interim period to create stability and establish expectations for response. Fitch will be evaluating response times as part of its work and will provide recommendations to Mayor and Council on the best response time structure that will provide patient centric care and be financially sustainable,” said Ad Hoc Committee Chair, Council Member Carlos Flores. For now, the committee members will continue to receive regular monthly updates from responder agencies and the consultant’s findings.
The City’s adopted Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget includes a total of $4.2 million that has been identified for transitional funding and will require an additional action by Mayor and Council before funds will be made available to MedStar. At this time, MedStar is not expected to need transitional funding until February 2024.
The Ad Hoc Committee, appointed by Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, is chaired by Council Member Carlos Flores and includes Council Members Macy Hill, Jared Williams, Elizabeth Beck and Charlie Lauersdorf.
Original source can be found here.
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