Yesterday we completed our final child seat inspection event for 2011. This year has brought many new highs. Austin-Travis County EMS completed 28 inspection events resulting in the installation of 680 car seats, distribution of 402 new car seats to families in need and education to over 800 families. Austin-Travis County EMS was also awarded the “Child Passenger Safety Program of the Year” by Safe Kids Austin and continues to have one of the largest groups of certified technicians in central Texas.

Our success is a direct representation of the work ethic and professionalism of our group. Other organizations continually complement our personnel while our community boasts about their experience at our events. I am extremely proud to be a part of this group and want to thank all of you for your dedication and hard work. Together, we will continue to make an impact on our community and ensure children are traveling safely while in vehicles.

I wish you all a Merry Everything and look forward to a New Year with new highs.

Sincerely,

Randy Chhabra

The Austin/Travis County EMS Association Political Action Committee endorses the following candidates for their commitment to Public Safety in our community.

Greg Hamilton Travis County Sheriff
Rosemary Lehmberg Travis County District Attorney
Efrain De La Fuente 167th District Court
Ernest Pedraza Constable Travis County Precinct 4
Sally Hernandez Travis County Constable Precinct 3
Danny Thomas Travis County Constable Precinct 1

A $127,000 study ordered by the Travis County Commissioners Court and released this week recommends unifying the various emergency service districts outside the city into one county-managed fire and rescue department, and possibly retooling the county’s agreement with Austin-Travis County EMS.

But the study does not say how much money the plan would save the county or cost to implement. The plan has also received criticism for some of its recommendations, including a suggestion that the county contract with taxi companies to send patients to hospitals instead of ambulances.

The study was conducted by Virginia-based Management Advisory Group and approved by commissioners in late June. It examined the quality of emergency medical care outside the city, including EMS ambulance services, county fire departments and STAR Flight helicopters.

Danny Hobby , Travis County’s head of emergency services, said the county may not adopt all of the study’s recommendations but called the report a good starting point.

“The study will be the catalyst to actually improve services in the county,” Hobby said. “It will create a discussion on what needs to happen to get the solutions we need.”

EMS Director Ernie Rodriguez said that although an initial review by his staffers found some inaccuracies in the study — including incorrect demographic information and a quoted standard for ambulance response times that they cannot find — he also hopes it leads to the agency being able to improve its services.

“We have some concerns about (the study), but our conversation with the county has been very consistent,” Rodriguez said. “They appreciate the service we provide.”

Hobby said he also supports a unified, countywide fire department and has been working toward that goal for some time.

The current system of emergency service districts has been called patchwork by some, with each district operating independently and with its own training and equipment standards.

The consultants say creating a unified fire and rescue service would help control costs, centralize training standards and promote accountability. It would include the county fire marshal’s office, STAR Flight and the emergency management office.

As for ambulance services, the study offers several suggestions that could alter the way Travis County residents are taken to hospitals. It recommends either renegotiating the county’s contract with the City of Austin to give the county more control over EMS services, or establishing a separate Travis County EMS department, or even finding a new public or private ambulance provider.

Currently, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services operates both inside the city and in the county. Austin residents foot most of the bill for EMS, however. Travis County kicks in about $11 million to EMS’ $43 million annual budget, the study said.

The study noted the “high quality of care” EMS provides, but it said ambulance response times in the county are longer than in the city — although it does not examine why that is. The study also said EMS ambulances meet their response-time goals in county areas only 60 percent of the time.

The county also has no control over expenses resulting from labor cost increases in negotiations between paramedic unions and the City of Austin, the study said.

“From the client’s (Travis County) viewpoint, the current EMS service delivery model suffers from increasing expense, unacceptable response times, \u2026 lack of cost controls and performance criteria, lack of accountability” and other issues, the study said. “Many county staff and officials believe they have been treated as ‘second class citizens’ by the city in the contractual relationship.”

One recommendation that raised eyebrows is that the county should consider an “alternate means of non-urgent and non-ambulance transportation,” such as taxi cab vouchers, to reduce the use of ambulances in non-emergency situations.

“I don’t think they got a very good study,” said Steve Stewart , president of the Austin-Travis County EMS Employees Association. “I don’t think they made a business case for a fire-based EMS system.”

Jim Linardos , chief of Lake Travis Fire Rescue, said he supports the idea of his and other emergency service districts becoming centralized.

“If you were to start over today, you wouldn’t have it set up the way we have it set up,” Linardos said of the district system.

County Judge Sam Biscoe said he expects the study will be discussed in Commissioners Court in the coming weeks.

pgeorge@statesman.com; 445-3548