SPCAD doesn’t have to put up with KC response times

Nine minutes or less.

That’s the amount of time southern Platte Countians should expect to receive emergency assistance from an ambulance. Often times it could be a situation where each passing minute could literally mean the difference between life and death. As important as it is, it’s a standard which is consistently not being met by the Kansas City Fire Department, leaving the board of the Southern Platte County Ambulance District (SPCAD) in recent months no choice but to demand better service or make a change.

For those unfamiliar with SPCAD, it was a board formed in August 2006 to oversee and carry out ambulance services in the increasingly growing areas of unincorporated and rural southern Platte County. It serves all areas outside the city limits of Kansas City including Parkville, Houston Lake, Northmoor, Lake Waukomis, Platte Woods, and Weatherby Lake (District 1) along with Ferrelview and Farley (District 2). The first ambulance service provider for the district was long-time emergency responder, Municipal Ambulance Services Trust (MAST), and provided superior service for the district, reporting response times of nine minutes or less 85-90 percent of the time until 2010.

In 2010, the City of Kansas City decided to merge MAST with the Kansas City Fire Department. It was a controversial decision made by the mayor and city council, opposed by many, including SPCAD board members, but one which left the district with few options other than to contract with the newly merged entity. Since that time, response times within the district have dropped dramatically with only 48 percent of the emergency calls placed from District 1 in the first quarter of 2012 being responded to in nine minutes or less. It’s also important to note, KCFD is reportedly not meeting response times within the actual limits of Kansas City (north or south of the river), either.

Causes for the poor response times include traffic issues, weather conditions, types of calls they don’t include in their service (life alerts or touch technologies), and how much information the dispatcher needs before a unit can respond. Some people believe the main problem is simply the fact that a single ambulance, regularly stationed out of the Price Chopper parking lot in Parkville, can’t effectively service all of southern Platte County. It provides little room for chance, or in one recent case, a GPS error. MAST similarly dealt with these issues, yet met their contract obligations nonetheless.

With an unacceptable level of service, SPCAD board members recently engaged Kansas City Fire Chief Smokey Dyer by demanding response times be improved. Coming off a handful of budget cuts and political setbacks of his own within Kansas City, Dyer does not seem too eager to fix the problem and has only presented two implausible solutions to amending the nearly $39,000 monthly contract to meet MAST performance levels: lowering the coverage period from 24 hours to 12 hours or more than doubling the price of the contract. One will leave southern Platte County without a primary emergency provider 12 hours a day; the other will require an increase in taxes. Neither is acceptable at this point, nor should they be.

Thankfully, SPCAD is not limited to those options alone though. They actually have several options. First, they could contract with another provider, either exclusively or with more than one. There are several area providers credible and qualified enough to exceed KCFD’s performance, which can’t get much worse. Second, the district could create and implement their own ambulance service. Third, SPCAD could continue negotiations with Smokey Dyer hoping an unlikely agreement can be reached resulting in neither a cut in coverage or increase in taxes. Each option comes with a different set of concerns and complexities.

The board members of the ambulance district recognize this isn’t a frivolous political battle, they know their role is to provide a service that ensures lives can be saved. Being a part of a new entity in a fairly unique situation, there are few precedents for them to draw parallels. Unlike areas within the city limits of Kansas City who have no choice but to accept decisions and failures by their elected and bureaucratic leaders, the good thing is south Platte doesn’t have to and likely won’t continue accept sub-par emergency service any longer. It certainly won’t be bullied by someone who’s just walked out of City Hall with their tail between their legs.