'Lives are threatened': Portland City Council urges Multco. chair to adopt new ambulance model

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The impact of slow response times from ambulances in Multnomah County is becoming such a vocal issue among local leaders that the Portland City Council has now passed a resolution urging the county to take action.

Specifically, Portland City Commissioners' resolution urges Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson to temporarily adopt a 1 Paramedic/1 EMT model due to slow response times from ambulances. This is in response to the national paramedic shortage.

“We can't wait any longer on this,” said Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez. “Too many seniors, too many people with serious health conditions. Lives are threatened if there's no available ambulances.”

That 1-1 model differs from Multnomah County’s current standard, which requires two paramedics per ambulance. However, American Medical Response Operations Manager Robert McDonald said the 1-1 model is “actually the national standard” as well as the standard for the State of Oregon. 

Portland City Council’s resolution happened just one day after the City of Gresham affirmed the same. On Tuesday, Vega Pederson announced a four-step plan to address the issue and a meeting in 30 days to hear from experts. Some have been critical of the county’s action not being urgent enough. 

AMR said if the county doesn’t make changes, the ambulance system could crumble. 

A Multnomah County meeting to address these concerns is slated for next week.

Portland Commissioners Mingus Mapps and Carmen Rubio released statements to KOIN 6 News elaborating why they're in favor of the county adopting the 1-1 model. Their statements are below.

Commissioner Mapps:

We are facing a public health crisis. Delayed ambulance response is catastrophic, and we must act with urgency. This requires an immediate and concrete response, not studies, conversations, or promises to do better in the future. Portland needs action from its public leaders. A pilot program moving to the one paramedic and one EMT model, a model that is used across the country, is a common-sense step to address the pressing problem in front of us. An ambulance with one paramedic is better than none. People are dying without transport. The time to act is now. 

Commissioner Rubio:

What is happening right now is not acceptable, and I strongly support all ideas, including a pilot, being put on the table to solve this problem. That said, what I would have done differently is to pick up the phone and call the Chair, and keep calling as needed – not make a threat via a Council resolution. In fact, through dialogue, she made me aware that she was having internal conversations about a way forward. We need to be persistent in our engagement with one another when working toward progress.