By Diana Day
As of last Friday, June 1, 2007, our city instituted 24/7 paramedic service.
The Sierra Madre Fire Department assumed responsibility for emergency medical care in 1971. The city’s first ambulance, purchased by a local fund-rasing effort, rolled out in 1973. Now, Sierra Madre is the last city in Los Angeles County to institute paramedic services. The majority of the calls received by the department are for emergency medical services.
Our fire department remains the only volunteer fire department in Los Angeles County.
At last week’s press conference, Mayor Enid Joffe called Council Member and former mayor John Buchanan the “father of the paramedic program” because of his long-term dedication to getting paramedic service in the city.
“Sometimes good things take awhile,” Buchanan said while addressing the gathering.
According to paramedic coordinator Greg Christmas, Sierra Madre will be assigning 28 part-time paramedics routinely, and there are 12 backups.
Having paramedic service means a major step-up in the level of emergency care for the city.
Paramedics can dispense many more drugs than EMTs, like drugs for diabetics and cardiac or drug overdose patients. Paramedics have advanced defibrillation and airway support equipment. They can make certain diagnoses in the field so that when they transport patients to the hospital, the patient can receive life-saving care more quickly.
Additionally, paramedics can transport patients to a variety of different medical centers, depending on the nature of the medical emergency.
Christmas explained that it was not necessary to purchase vehicles to provide paramedic services, but rather to properly equip existing ones according to county regulations.
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