WASHOE COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
The Washoe County Board of Commissioners held a previously announced special meeting with the City of Reno and Washoe District Board of Health today to review a report on the community’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) board was also invited, but did not attend due to lack of a quorum. Representatives from the Sparks City Council and North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District were also present. The region’s complex EMS system includes emergency medical response and pre-hospital medical care, as well as emergency transport and dispatch services, all of which are provided in our community by an array of separate public and private providers. TriData, a professional EMS, fire, and public safety consulting firm, was contracted to study the delivery of EMS to the citizens of the area.
“Overall, Washoe County EMS providers at all levels provide timely, high quality responses in a professional manner,” according to TriData’s report. The report identified three main areas of improvement to emergency medical services including: 1) improve dispatch coordination, 2) renegotiate the REMSA franchise agreement and 3) provide a mechanism for area-wide oversight for the EMS system. The three agencies indicated that they will discuss the report and possible next steps at three upcoming public meetings: District Board of Health, October 25; City of Reno, November 7; and the Board of County Commissioners meeting, November 13.
For more information on the EMS report, please visitwww.washoecounty.us/large_files/agendas/101812sm/6.pdf.
