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San Joaquin County and the City of Lodi Reach
Tentative Emergency Medical Dispatch Agreement
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Tentative Emergency Medical Dispatch Agreement
San Joaquin County
(3/6/08)…
(3/6/08)…
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]On March 11, 2008, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors will consider approval of a settlement with the City of Lodi regarding emergency medical dispatch services. The Lodi City Council approved the settlement on February 20, 2008.
The County and the cities of Lodi, Manteca and Stockton have been in litigation since 2006 over the County’s requirement that all Emergency Medical Services (EMS) ambulance dispatch be consolidated under the American Medical Response (AMR) Lifecom System. AMR is the exclusive provider of ambulance services in San Joaquin County. Under the authority of the County’s EMS agency, all cities in the County were directed to use AMR Lifecom beginning in May 2006; however, Lodi, Manteca and Stockton have continued to use the Stockton Fire Department for ambulance dispatch. The County was forced to file litigation in order to resolve the dispatch dispute.
The settlement with Lodi contains its agreement to switch from Stockton Fire to AMR Lifecom for EMS ambulance dispatch. In exchange, the County will dismiss its lawsuit against Lodi. Lodi has also chosen to take back its own fire dispatch services from the Stockton Fire Department. Under the terms of the settlement, Lodi will have approximately twelve months to acquire and train staff for its new fire dispatch services, at which time, all 9-1-1 medical calls received by Lodi will be transferred to AMR Lifecom for ambulance dispatch.
The County continues settlement discussions with the City of Manteca and hopes to have resolution of that litigation soon. Settlement discussions with the City of Stockton, thus far, have been unsuccessful.
[/FONT]The County and the cities of Lodi, Manteca and Stockton have been in litigation since 2006 over the County’s requirement that all Emergency Medical Services (EMS) ambulance dispatch be consolidated under the American Medical Response (AMR) Lifecom System. AMR is the exclusive provider of ambulance services in San Joaquin County. Under the authority of the County’s EMS agency, all cities in the County were directed to use AMR Lifecom beginning in May 2006; however, Lodi, Manteca and Stockton have continued to use the Stockton Fire Department for ambulance dispatch. The County was forced to file litigation in order to resolve the dispatch dispute.
The settlement with Lodi contains its agreement to switch from Stockton Fire to AMR Lifecom for EMS ambulance dispatch. In exchange, the County will dismiss its lawsuit against Lodi. Lodi has also chosen to take back its own fire dispatch services from the Stockton Fire Department. Under the terms of the settlement, Lodi will have approximately twelve months to acquire and train staff for its new fire dispatch services, at which time, all 9-1-1 medical calls received by Lodi will be transferred to AMR Lifecom for ambulance dispatch.
The County continues settlement discussions with the City of Manteca and hopes to have resolution of that litigation soon. Settlement discussions with the City of Stockton, thus far, have been unsuccessful.
