Falck Mobile Health, San Diego’s emergency ambulance service provider, reported it exceeded the required service hours in June, the first time it has done so since its contract began in late 2021.
The milestone comes after months of lower response rates due to the COVID pandemic and challenges recruiting staff amid a nationwide shortage of paramedics.
Officials said Thursday the company delivered a daily average of 926.7 advanced life support hours in June, exceeding the city’s required daily average of 900 hours.
“At a time when cities across the U.S. are struggling to meet the growing demand for emergency ambulance services, San Diego is a true success story,” said John Goward, Falck’s managing director for San Diego.
“Our intensive efforts to recruit, train and retain paramedics, along with the City Council’s decision to approve subcontracting, made the difference in June, and we are confident that we are in a strong position moving forward,” Goward said.
Falck offered large signing bonuses to new paramedics in San Diego and entered into a three-year contract the San Diego Association of Prehospital Professionals that offers significant annual pay increases. The company has added 31 paramedics in the past seven months.
In May the City Council allowed Falck to subcontract with other ambulance providers, which accounted for 3% of the hours in June.
“We appreciate the City Council and Falck being willing to explore alternative approaches to delivering critically needed emergency ambulance service in the city,” said Colin Stowell, chief of the Fire-Rescue Department. “We look forward to continued collaboration and improvements to the system.”
Later this month, the City Council will consider another change to Falck’s contract allowing the Fire-Rescue Department to work with multiple ambulance providers under an “alliance model,” though Falck would remain the primary company.
Falck, which is headquartered in Denmark, provides ambulance services around the world.
