We often talk about our police and fire departments and all that they do to keep Meridian a safe place to live. Together, they are providing premier public safety services to our community, but they are not alone. In addition to those first responders, I want to highlight the Ada County Paramedics who are an important part of our first responder network who are providing critical emergency medical services (EMS) such as transporting injured or ill patients to the hospital in times of great need.

Earlier this month, I participated in a ride-along with the Ada County Paramedics. During my ride-along, I had the opportunity to see how they respond to calls for service in both Boise and Meridian. Throughout those calls, it was great to see how they interacted with fire personnel, working together to provide critical care to those in need. This could be anything from a vehicle crash or house fire to someone falling at home and needing help. When they transported patients to local hospitals, I was able to interact with the team at St. Alphonsus in Boise who has the only level II trauma center in Idaho. Here, I was able to learn about what they do every day to ensure critical care is provided to Meridian, the Treasure Valley, and beyond. Overall, it was interesting to see how patients are received from the fire department who initiated care, to the Ada County Paramedics for care and transport, and finally how patients are handed over to the hospitals for their ultimate care. Frankly, it was eye-opening to experience the continuation of work as it relates to healthcare and a testament to why we have paramedics on each fire engine in Meridian.

People may not realize it but a majority of the calls – 73% - responded to by the Meridian Fire Department are medical. This includes everything from car crashes, and lift assists, to immediate trauma; essentially almost every call for service outside of fires, although medical is also needed on fire calls as well. That’s why we have paramedics on each shift at each of our eight firehouses so they can initiate needed care and, if necessary, transfer care to others for transport. The relationships we have with our partner agencies and within the medical field are important. An extension of that relationship and efforts to collaborate is seen at Fire Station Seven which has been co-located with the Ada County Paramedics. There have been many benefits to this effort. It has brought more ambulances into our community which provides greater coverage for transport when needed. In addition, those crews housed within the same location can build professional relationships outside of a crisis so that during a crisis they can work even more cohesively. Currently, there are four Ada County Paramedic ambulances housed in Meridian with the plan to staff a fifth crew at Fire Station Eight in the future.

Co-locating helps bring more services into our community, and collaboration with the county doesn’t stop there. Joint power agreements (JPA) exist to help each other as it relates to dispatched calls for service. Six surrounding public safety agencies, including Meridian Fire, have an Ada County / City Emergency Services System JPA that was formed to provide Ada County residents with the highest level of emergency medical service. This has been a collaborative effort since 2013 with the goal to minimize supply and resource duplication while ensuring consistency in delivering the highest level of care to Ada County residents. This allows us to have consistent processes for providing EMS services and keep costs down.

As we continue to build lasting relationships with our EMS partners, I want to extend my gratitude to the team at Ada County Paramedics and St. Alphonsus. My ride-along experience was a great reminder that we need to continue to build upon our collaboration efforts and foster a sense of continuity through every interaction we have when our residents call for medical aid. Together, we can utilize our limited resources to meet the needs of Meridian and the entire County.