With more than 40 years of experience as a firefighter and medical professional, I can confidently say that delivering exceptional emergency medical service is a cornerstone of my life and my true passion. Last November, I started working for Falck‘s 911 ambulance operations in San Diego, and in May I became managing director.
In the past five months, Falck has made many improvements in San Diego. In fact, we are proud to report that from May through September of this year, Falck exceeded its contractual obligations to the city of San Diego.
As widely reported, reaching this point has not been easy. After we were awarded the city contract and began service in late 2021, the entire healthcare industry was dramatically impacted by COVID-19. The global pandemic created a heightened demand for all medical resources, a nationwide labor shortage of paramedics and EMTs, a near-total shutdown of EMS training programs, and a significant hamper on recruitment.
The impact of COVID on EMS systems is still being felt around the globe. In fact, a study last year by the American Ambulance Association found that 30% of full-time and 55% of part-time paramedic positions went unfilled because of a lack of qualified candidates.
The challenge for all of us in the EMS field is to create new solutions in a changing environment. Unlike most of the business world, however, we are in a field that demands 24/7/365 service without interruption. Working from home does not work for EMS.
Overcoming this challenge has required both public and contracted EMS providers to think outside the box, which is exactly what we did in San Diego. Working closely with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and the San Diego Association of Prehospital Professionals, we developed an ambitious three-pronged program to fill the gap in qualified professionals.
That program had three major components. First, an increase in wages for our valued paramedics and EMTs. Second, unprecedented signing bonuses to attract and recruit new paramedics. And third, significant investments in training programs to help aspiring EMTs make the all-important transition to becoming paramedics, which pays them more and creates a pipeline for new recruits.
The results have been impressive. Our efforts have recruited more than 70 new paramedics, and since May 1, Falck has coordinated the delivery of, on average, 935 paramedic ambulance hours and 128 EMT ambulance hours daily on the road for San Diegans in need. More than 95% of this delivery was provided by Falck employees. The balance was provided by a Falck backup subcontractor.
All in, from June 1 to Sept. 30, Falck delivered more than 104% of its contractual obligation to the city. The bottom line is that San Diegans now have more ambulance coverage on the road than ever before, exceeding the commitment we made in 2020 when bidding on this contract. What’s more, we accomplished this at a time when news headlines are filled with reports of EMS systems across the country still struggling to staff adequately and meet the demand for 911 emergency medical service.
While we are proud of our employees and our recent accomplishments, we realize there is still much work to do in San Diego. Further complicating the issue is that even while the availability of medical professionals has gone down in recent years, the demand for ambulance service has gone up both locally and nationally. Based on the latest data, ambulance calls in San Diego have risen by more than 3% in the last year. While that might not seem substantial, it will amount to nearly 4,000 more patients per year.
As we look to the future, San Diegans should feel fully confident in their EMS system. As of Oct. 1, San Diego has moved to a new model of ambulance service — one that Falck fully supports and is working closely with the Fire-Rescue Department on to make sure is successful.
The model involves adding a second ambulance provider, rather than the traditional single-provider model the city has relied on for decades, to provide needed support in an era where demands can exceed supply. In this new model, Falck is proud to be the primary provider, delivering more than 95% of the ambulance hours to San Diegans.
As mentioned, EMS is my career and my passion. I am honored to be the managing director leading Falck’s San Diego operation, and you have my commitment to keep innovating to ensure that San Diegans are afforded some of the best emergency medical service in the world. Thank you for your trust and confidence.
John Goward is managing director for Falck in San Diego.
