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No. 99-19 <br />• CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS <br />CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION <br />Date: September 1, 1999 <br />Resolution Discontinuing the Falcon Heights Basic Life Support (BLS) <br />Ambulance License <br />Whereas, since 1949 the city of Falcon Heights has been well served by its volunteer fire department; <br />and <br />Whereas, since 1978 the Falcon Heights community was well served by one ambulance service, the <br />Falcon Heights basic life support (BLS) ambulance service provided by committed fire department <br />volunteers, who were trained as emergency medical technicians and first responders and; <br />Whereas, in June, 1996 the city's emergency medical director at Regions EMS services said that the <br />Falcon Heights BLS/emergency medical technician ambulance was no longer adequate as the only <br />ambulance responding from the point of the 911 call for the Falcon Heights community; and <br />.Whereas, the medical director directed Falcon Heights to find an advanced life support <br />(ALS)lparamedic ambulance service to be available to respond to emergency medical calls from the <br />911 call; and <br />Whereas, the residents, visitors and workers in Falcon Heights need a highly trained, quick and <br />consistent response to medical emergencies from an ambulance service with ALS/paramedic <br />capabilities staffed 24 hours a day as the minimum EMS service delivery model in the community; and <br />Whereas, since 1997, this ALS service has been and continues to be available from St. Paul at a cost to <br />tl~e patient not the city; and <br />Whereas, Falcon Heights is within the primary service area for the St. Paul ALS license;and <br />Whereas, the Falcon Heights BLS ambulance service, provided by committed volunteer firefighters <br />trained as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and first responders, provides a desirable alternate <br />response to medical emergencies where the patients clearly do not require the training and skills of <br />paramedics on the scene as long as it is self-supporting and maintains a high quality; and <br />Whereas, the Falcon Heights BLS ambulance call and transport numbers declined with the addition of <br />an ALS service to the city's emergency medical response model; and <br />Whereas, the reduced number of transports by the Falcon Heights BLS service results in less revenue <br />to cover costs of the service; and <br />Whereas, the Falcon Heights BLS ambulance is structured as an enterprise fund to be self-supporting; <br />• and <br />