EMS

Officials updated Fort Worth City Council on the status of the transition at an April 15 work session, detailing budget projections, staffing changes and infrastructure preparation.

As the end of the year inches closer, Fort Worth is making steady progress on its plan to dissolve longtime EMS provider MedStar.

After the City Council’s May vote to dissolve longtime North Texas EMS provider MedStar and move to a fire-based system, the city began looking at how best to bring MedStar EMTs and paramedics into the fold. In order to make that happen, representatives from the city, the fire department’s union and MedStar sat down July 12 to discuss needed changes to the collective bargaining agreement that governs fire employee rights. At the top of the list: tweaking how firefighters are defined.

American Medical Response requested the rate increase due to rising costs for EMS providers. The city of Arlington and the company will promote programs to help families pay for the services.

Experts say community paramedicine programs, which involve paramedics checking in on people with known health issues before an emergency happens, can cut costs and ease strains on health care systems in rural areas.

After more than 38 years, MedStar’s time as the designated EMS provider for Fort Worth is drawing to a close.

Fort Worth’s EMS committee will make a recommendation on the future of emergency care in the city come April — and its decision could have ripple effects across the county.

Fort Worth has been a part of the MedStar EMS system since 1986. But as the public utility continues to struggle with rising costs and declining reimbursements, council members are taking a closer look at alternative models.

Fitch & Associates will take the lead on examining Fort Worth’s EMS services, after the City Council unanimously approved a $182,500 contract with the public safety consultant.

Fatal crashes in rural areas accounted for 51% of Texas’ 4,489 traffic fatalities in 2021, even though only about 10% of the state’s population lives in a rural area, according to data from the state’s department of transportation.

Paramedics can respond to emergencies in minutes. But, an injured person could possibly bleed to death in less time. A government program called Stop the…