In 2017, a service needs analysis of the Austin Fire Department led to the City Council-sanctioned creation of a six-year plan to construct and staff five fire/EMS stations in the areas of most need: Del Valle/Moore’s Crossing, Travis Country, Loop 360/Davenport, Goodnight Ranch and Canyon Creek/620. Last week, Richard Mendoza, the director of Public Works, […]
EMS
Posted inEMS
Committee reviews EMS response times
Jasper Brown, chief of staff for Travis County Emergency Medical Services, spoke before the Public Safety Commission on Jan. 4 to report the quarterly incident response times for the county. The goal response time for all priority-one calls – a category that includes cardiac arrests, patients who are no longer breathing and a variety of […]
Posted inEMS
Texas first responders need equipment to tackle Covid-19
Two-thirds of emergency service district first responders reported they have been unable to procure a sufficient amount of the necessary personal protective equipment since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study by the Texas State Association of Fire and Emergency Districts (SAFE-D). “It is clear after the early weeks of combating Covid-19 […]
Posted inEMS
Austin 911 operators effectively field calls, but audit finds gaps in dispatching overall
Operators field roughly a million calls for emergency services in Austin a year. A new city report says those operators do a serviceable job of answering that glut of calls, but found a disconnect between those calls and the delivery of crucial services. There are a lot of reasons for that, according to the Office […]
Posted inEMS
Austin EMS union outlines effects of high call volume and sick leave policies
In recent months, Austin Emergency Medical Services has implemented new policies to improve the lives of its medics. The department has adjusted its start times to be on a more natural wake-up schedule and has instated a new code for medics to call in the event of an assault, resulting in faster response times from […]
Posted inEMS
Public Safety Commission questions path forward for EMS providers being assaulted
After reports from EMS personnel raised questions about the frequency of field officer assault by patients, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services conducted an internal survey. The results showed that the majority of Austin EMS personnel say they’ve been assaulted on the job in the last two years. “We certainly are being assaulted,” Selena Xie, the president […]
Posted inEMS
A majority of Austin EMS personnel say assaults on the job are common and ‘unavoidable’
A majority of Austin EMS personnel say they’ve been assaulted on the job in the last two years, according to an internal survey. Most first responders also say they don’t feel properly trained to address aggressive behavior. Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services hoped to quantify verbal and physical assault among staff fielding calls and emergency […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County leaders urge vigilance on flooding
Heavy rains over the past two weeks have not resulted in major residential flooding, but at least one death appears to be linked to flooding and government officials are urging residents to avoid certain waterways and to be on high alert for flooding if another storm hits. On May 8, one man was found dead […]
Posted inEMS
EMS leader seeks changes in retirement system
Selena Xie, the newly elected president of the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Employee Association, has a mission. She wants to change the retirement system for EMS workers so it is more in line with the systems for other public safety workers. Xie said the current requirements for making EMS employees eligible for full retirement […]
Posted inEMS
City, EMS negotiators reach tentative deal
Labor negotiators for the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Employee Association and the city of Austin have reached a tentative agreement. Council is scheduled to discuss the proposal today in executive session. Union President Tony Marquardt said union members have been voting on the contract and the polls will close this morning. If all goes […]
Posted inEMS
Council OKs short-term EMS contract
City Council approved without comment a six-month contract with the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Employee Association on Thursday that essentially duplicates their previous contract. Members of the union approved the contract in voting that ended Wednesday night. Between now and the end of September, the two sides will try to negotiate a long-term contract. […]
Posted inEMS
EMS union urges city not to forget it
The union that represents the city’s paramedics is urging the city to come to the bargaining table and approve a new contract that will offer ambulance workers what it describes as a much-deserved 2 percent pay raise. Tony Marquardt, president of the Austin-Travis County EMS Employee Association, told the Public Safety Commission on Monday that […]