The agenda includes two items:
1. Resolution opposing the proposed merger of the Kansas City Fire Dept and MAST ambulance service.
2. Cooperative agreement with KCMO
As you know KCMO faces fierce budget issues. They are turning over rocks everywhere to save money...(Pardon the Interruption...hey mayor and BOA are you watching? Are we being as frugal as we could be? We have major needs in the future with little ability to pay). One area being looked at is the takeover of emergency and transport services by KCMO Fire Department. The Fire Chief openly covets the opportunity and Funkhouser has made some fairly outrageous claims on projected improvement in response times if KCMO takes over. Merger? Nope. Take over. Yep. How does this affect us? Let me count the ways.
Short history lesson. The drive for a Southern Platte Ambulance District had been brewing for some time. It picked up momentum when then Parkville Mayor Kathy Dusenberry energized the effort. She enlisted the support of members of the Northland Mayors Council, gaining an "all in commitment" from then WL Mayor Mike Henderson. Mike forgot to discuss his commitment with the WL BOA and got a boost from his pal Paul Gross in circulating petitions for the formation of the district. Paul was also a participant in the discussions at the Mayors Council (I was there), Platte County Commissioners meeting (I was there) and formation meetings of the District itself (I was there). You might also remember Presiding Commissioner Betty Knight and Platte County Sherriff Dick Anderson openly supported the District formation at a forum held at our own CC (I was there). I am sure you remember the ballot issue forming the District was overwhelmingly defeated at the polls at WL and Henderson lost his reelection, in part I believe, to the shenanigans regarding the District. Despite thumbs down here, the initiative passed due to the nature of the vote in the rest of the proposed district. Our own WLFire Protection District was disbanded and the new District chose MAST as the provider. Got all of that? Oh yeah, our taxes went up...but response times did not improve.
I feel certain MAST doesn't like the prospect of losing the KCMO business. Apparently our Ambulance District rep Ron Wheeler met yesterday with City officials to ask for support in opposing the take over, thus the resolution above. What led to the decision to oppose the takeover? Mary doesn't say. Have we explored all options? Don't know. Are we reacting on MAST's behalf or our best interests or are they the same?
The current scenario and sequence of 911 response in WL is typically, WL Police first, Platte County Fire second and MAST third. There usually isn't a big lag time between the three, although my guess West Side response times for MAST are slower because of the Barry Road Bridge. MAST serves as the transport equipment if a patient needs to be taken to the hospital.
My hope is all options are explored thoroughly, before a knee jerk reaction causes another misfire. Attend the meeting this coming Monday night at 6PM, ask questions. If you can't pick up the phone or email your alderman. If they are against the takeover, as it appears, ask them to explain why. More Blarney on the eve of St Pats?
5 comments:
Yet another example of Paul Gross meddling that has hurt this community. Those he was able to manipulate didn't do us any favors.
Mike, please keep us posted and updated on those with WL best interest at heart and those that don't - maybe because of their friends outside the lake.
sounds like the old "who's on first" routine.
This isn't an issue of MAST losing it's KCMO business. KCMO is our business. I'm a paramedic at MAST, and KCMO is our primary service area, and the where most of our employees work. Because of the money KCMO provides us, both in terms of revenue and fees paid to our non-profit by the city, we can provide affordable coverage to Riverside, Parkville, Houston Lake, Weatherby Lake, and Lake Waukomis to name a few.
I know Parkville was upset at what an ambulance costs, but look at it this way -- in Weatherby Lake, or Parkville, you're paying for and getting unlimited ambulances.
If a call goes out in your neighborhood, most ambulance services would have one, maybe two ambulances available to respond. We have up to 39 ambulances in service at peak times during the day. Yes, you could have 39 people shot, 39 people in a bus that rolls over, 39 people who had heart attacks at the same time and we will have an ambulance for every single one of them.
That's something nobody else in the metro can match.
Nobody in city government or with our union has mentioned what KCFD taking us over would do for you. I'll tell you what it would do -- leave you without ambulance coverage. It would leave you scrambling to come up with an alternative. KCFD has forgotten that MAST isn't just KCMO. It involves a lot of people's lives on the edges of the city. It abandons communities we have been serving for many years and have come to know well.
MAST provides an unbelievable service to this community. this is spoken by someone who has needed them serveral times. they have always been 2nd to show up at our home and they are very fast to respond. They don't just provide the transport to the hospital...they provide all of the emergency medical care as well. I say leave it as it is...it works!
I understand the last two comments, WL however won't have much say in the matter. KCMO and MAST will do what they need/want to do and the South Platte Ambulance District will be left holding the bag. I don't agree that there are no alternatives. South Platte Fire Department was investigating establishing EMT service when the formation of South Platte occurred. Cost and scope are another thing. Are you concerned our ambulance coverage could be managed by the same city that is talking about turning off their fountains because they have no funds? Not talked about very much but in the mix is the role of unions in the background.
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