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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 1d - Ordinance No. 2321 Emergency Medical and Ambulance Transport ServicesG�IIF Ognt9`y� f' AuFUr , 19(a .yp:% �o ��4nity of 0o e� STAFF REPORT Fire Department DATE: November 18, 2014 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Kurt Norwood, Fire Chief SUBJECT: ORDINANCE NO. 2321 AMENDING ARTICLE III, CHAPTER 1, PART 7 OF THE ARCADIA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL AND AMBULANCE TRANSPORT SERVICES AND PARAMEDIC MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM Recommendation: Adopt At its meeting of November 4, 2014, the City Council introduced Ordinance No. 2321 amending the Arcadia Municipal Code relating to emergency medical and ambulance transport services and paramedic membership program. A copy of Ordinance No. 2321 and the November 4, 2014, staff report are attached for your information. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 2321 amending Article III, Part 7 of the Arcadia Municipal Code relating to emergency medical and ambulance transport services and paramedic membership program. Approved Dominic La77ar City Manager Attachments: Ordinance No. 2321 November 4, 2014 Staff Report ORDINANCE NO. 2321 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING ARTCLE III, CHAPTER 1, PART 7 OF THE ARCADIA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL AND AMBULANCE TRANSPORT SERVICES THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS; SECTION 1. Section 3170 of Part 7, Chapter 1 of Article III of the Arcadia Municipal Code is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: "3170. AUTHORIZATION OF FEES. Fees for emergency paramedic and ambulance services are authorized and subject to be charged for basic and advanced life support services provided by the Fire Department within the City. The amount of such fees shall be set periodically by resolution of the City Council. The "fee for services" shall be a user fee designed to recover costs associated with the delivery of emergency medical care and ambulance transport services. Such fees shall be based upon: emergencies requiring basic life support service ("BLS"), emergencies requiring advanced life support services ( "ALS "); and emergencies requiring ALS and /or BLS ambulance transportation. Patients in the City of Arcadia shall pay a fee for receipt of the following services: a. Basic life support paramedic services (EMS Assessment); b. Advanced life support paramedic services (EMS Assessment); and/or c. Basic and advanced life support paramedic and transport services. 1 Fees for the City's voluntary Paramedic Membership Program are authorized and shall be charged for enrollment in this program. The membership period for which the fee is charged is twelve (12) months from the date of enrollment. The amount of the annual membership fee for this program shall be set periodically by resolution of the City Council. a. The Paramedic Membership Program is a membership program offered to Arcadia residents and businesses, protecting permanent household members (related or not) and employees of businesses within the City of Arcadia, This program is offered to residents and businesses within the incorporated area of Arcadia. Fees paid by businesses entitle membership to owners and employees only. Guests, customers, patrons, and visitors or others using the facilities of such households and businesses shall be charged directly for emergency paramedic and ambulance transportation services." SECTION 2. Section 3170.4 of Part 7, Chapter 1 of Article III of the Arcadia Municipal Code is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: "3170.4. ELIGIBILITY OF PARAMEDIC MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM. The Paramedic Membership Program is open to all residents and commercial residents (businesses) located in the incorporated area of the City of Arcadia. Payment of the voluntary membership fee by households shall entitle membership to permanent residents of that household, related or not. Membership fees paid by businesses shall entitle membership to owners and employees only. Guests, customers, patrons, visitors or others using the facilities of business memberships shall be charged directly for paramedic and ambulance services. All City employees, volunteers, elected 2 officials, or any individuals deemed qualified by the City Manager or his or her designee are considered enrolled in the Paramedic Membership Program should they utilize paramedic and ambulance services provided by Arcadia Fire Department while conducting City business." SECTION 3. Section 3170.6 of Part 7, Chapter 1 of Article III of the Arcadia Municipal Code is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: "3170.6. PARAMEDIC MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS. Members shall receive the following benefits by enrolling in the Paramedic Membership Program: Prepayment of the uninsured portion of; (1) BLS paramedic charges; (2) ALS paramedic charges; (3) Emergency ambulance transportation; and (4) Any additional member benefits added at the Fire Chief's discretion, subject to City Manager approval. The Paramedic Membership Program only applies to emergencies that occur within the City limits. Employees and owners of businesses that are members are covered for emergencies at any location within the City of Arcadia." SECTION 4. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause a copy of the same to be published in the official newspaper of said City within fifteen (15) days after its adoption. 3 Passed, approved and adopted this day of 2014 ATTEST: City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: g�� P. ' Stephen P. Deitsch City Attorney 0 Mayor of the City of Arcadia G�IIF Ognt9`y� f' AuFUr , 19(a .yp:% �o ��4nity of 0o e� STAFF REPORT Fire Department DATE: November 4, 2014 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Kurt Norwood, Fire Chief By: Yvonne Yeung, Senior Management Analyst SUBJECT: ORDINANCE NO. 2321 AMENDING ARTICLE III, CHAPTER 1, PART 7 OF THE ARCADIA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL AND AMBULANCE TRANSPORT SERVICES AND PARAMEDIC MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM Recommendation: Introduce SUMMARY The Fire Department recently reviewed the section of the Arcadia Municipal Code pertaining to emergency medical services (EMS), ambulance transport services and the Paramedic Membership Program. Certain amendments are proposed to ensure that the Arcadia Municipal Code is consistent with Resolution No. 7047, adopted by the City Council on October 21, 2014, relating to the adoption of City fees and to provide clarification in the event a City employee, volunteer, or elected official utilizes the paramedics while conducting City business. BACKGROUND In 1994, the City Council authorized the City to charge for EMS and ambulance services as well as to implement the Voluntary Emergency Medical Subscription Program. On January 4, 2005, Ordinance No. 2202 was adopted to change the name to the Paramedic Membership Program ( "PMP "). The PMP is essentially an insurance program for residents and businesses; participants have any unreimbursed ambulance and other EMS charges waived, which can total up to $1,600 per incident. The annual PMP rate was recently raised from $40 to $51 per year. Ordinance No. 2321 - Fire Department Services November 4, 2014 Page 2 of 3 DISCUSSION The current Ordinance allows the Fire Department the ability to recover costs from Arcadia residents who receive "Treat and No Transport" Advanced Life Support services and from non - residents who receive either Basic or Advanced Life Support services. It is recommended that residents and non - residents be combined into one section and all persons that are treated by Arcadia Fire Department be referred to as "Patients." This will in no way alter the level of service provided to the public nor will it modify existing fees. Rather, it will make it easier for people unfamiliar with the Code to understand its intent and reduces opportunities for abusing the system. Citizens throughout the State are increasingly utilizing local 911 paramedic services as in -home physician services. Paramedics are dispatched to a patient — many of whom have chronic illnesses — and treatment is provided. When the patient's medical condition is stabilized on- scene, the patient then refuses transport to the hospital for further treatment and evaluation. Currently, the City does not charge for this type of EMS assessment and paramedic services if a patient is treated and released at the scene without transport; however, the time and supplies required for this kind of care can be significant. The Arcadia Fire Department has encountered "Treat and No Transport" patients on occasions where the Paramedics were repeatedly dispatched to the same residents on a regular basis. Although these occurrences are not frequent, the City should have the ability to implement an EMS Assessment Fee in individual cases in which the Fire Department suspects abuse of the paramedic service delivery system. The City has not charged for the EMS Assessment Fee in the past nor does it plan on charging such fee in the near future. The proposed language changes simply provide the City the flexibility to exercise its right to achieve cost recovery from patients who potentially misuse the system, regardless of whether they are Arcadia residents or not. Furthermore, the changes may facilitate Federal cost recovery of the City's paramedic program as federal healthcare reform gets fully implemented. It should be noted that several surrounding Cities, including Glendale, Burbank, Monterey Park, and Alhambra, have incorporated and are charging an EMS Assessment Fee to all patients that receive Treatment and No Transport services every time an assessment is made. The second change to the Ordinance would be to add the term "EMS Assessment" to the Code. "EMS Assessment" is industry standard terminology and it is proposed to be incorporated in the proposed Ordinance for cross - referencing and clarification. For instance, the term is already used in the City's fee schedule and appears in daily practice for the Fire Department; however, it is not expressly stated in the current Ordinance. Ordinance No. 2321 - Fire Department Services November 4, 2014 Page 2 of 3 Specifically, the proposed Ordinance would make the following changes to Section 3170 of the Arcadia Municipal Code: (First Paragraph) Fees for emergency paramedic and ambulance services are authorized and subject to be chime charged for basic and advanced life support services provided by the Fire Department within the City. (Third Paragraph) Patients Non residents in the City of Arcadia shall be subject to and Gharged a fee for receipt of any combination of the following services: a. Basic life support paramedic services (EMS Assessment); b. Advanced life support paramedic services (EMS Assessment); and /or c. Transport services. MIF . r The next set of proposed amendments aims to eliminate any references to the visitor coverage component of the Paramedic Membership Program. Adopted by the City Council on October 21, 2014, Resolution No. 7047 authorizes the elimination of visitor coverage of the Paramedic Membership Program beginning January 1, 2015. In addition, it is recommended that language be added to the Arcadia Municipal Code to include any individuals conducting official City business as Paramedic Membership Program members. There have been a few incidents in the past in which a City employee required medical attention and ambulance transportation provided by the Fire Department during work hours. The proposed language addition will protect individuals working or volunteering for the City from incurring potential out -of- pocket EMS assessment and transport services expenses should they need such services from the Fire Department during the course of conducting City business. Ordinance No. 2321 - Fire Department Services November 4, 2014 Page 2 of 3 Specifically, the following sections would be modified: Section 3170 (Starting in the Fifth Paragraph): a...Unless residential members desire to of irGh°se��Et$r GOverage of on . ...�a��rcrcrr r- rrrcrrrvcr�rr� fur vcrac�c -aTarr additional nominal fee Guests, customers, patrons, and visitors or others using the facilities of such households and businesses shall be charged directly for emergency paramedic and ambulance transportation services. Section 3170.4 Guest an«ortGr ooV ., ayided for residential momhorshi" an additional fps set by resolution of the City GeurnGil. Guests customers, patrons, visitors or others using the facilities of business memberships shall be charged directly for paramedic and ambulance services. All City employees, volunteers, elected officials, or any individuals performing official City business as deemed by the City Manager or their designee are considered enrolled in the Paramedic Membership Program should they utilize paramedic and ambulance services provided by Arcadia Fire Department while conducting such City business. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact to the City in introducing this ordinance. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council introduce Ordinance No. 2321 amending Article III, Chapter 1, Part 7 of the Arcadia Municipal Code relating to emergency medical and ambulance transport services and Paramedic Membership Program. Approved: Dominic Lazzar t City Manager Attachment: Ordinance No. 2321