Drafter
Clerk 04/17/2013
Title
AN ORDINANCE authorizing the approval of the Medic One/Emergency Medical Services 2014-2019 Strategic Plan.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. Emergency medical services are among the most important services provided to county residents. These services include basic and advanced life support, regional medical control and quality improvement, emergency medical technician training, emergency medical dispatch training, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation training, paramedic continuing education, injury prevention education and related services. In combination, these programs have made the emergency medical services network in King County an invaluable lifesaving effort and an important part of the quality of life standards afforded residents of the county.
B. The Medic One/emergency medical servies system in King County is recognized as one of the best emergency medical services program in the country. With an international reputation for innovation and excellence, it offers uniform medical care regardless of location, incident circumstances, day of the week or time of day.
C. The King County regional system has measurable among the finest of medical outcomes in the world for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. In 2011, Seattle and King County achieved a fifty-two-percent survival rate for cardiac arrest, which is the highest rate to date anywhere.
D. The system's success can be traced to its unique design that is built upon the following components:
1. Regional, collaborative, crossjurisdictional and coordinated partnerships that allow for "seamless" operations;
2. Emergency medical services that are derived from the highest standards of medical training, practices and care, scientific evidence and close supervision by physicians experienced in emergency medical services care;
3. Programmatic leadership and state of the art science-based strategies that allow the system to obtain superior medical outcomes and meet its own needs and expectations, as well as of those of its residents;
4. Sustained regional focus on operational and financial efficiencies that have led to the system's financial viability and stability, even throughout the economic recession; and
5. Support by levy funds that make the services it provides less vulnerable, though not immune, to fluctuations in the economy.
E. King County should continue to exercise leadership and assume responsibility for assuring the consistent, standardized, effective and cost efficient development and provision of emergency services throughout the county.
F. The emergency medical services advisory task force was developed via King County Ordinance 15862 to "ensure continued emergency medical service for King County by reviewing issues and options and by developing recommendations for the next strategic plan."
G. Beginning in October 2011, the emergency medical services advisory task force worked collaboratively with emergency medical services stakeholders to assess the needs of the system and develop programmatic and financial recommendations that ensure the integrity of the world-class Medic One/ emergency medical services system is maintained. On July 26, 2012, the emergency medical services advisory task force endorsed its Programmatic Needs Recommendations, which became the foundation of the Medic One/Emergency Medical Services 2014-2019 Strategic Plan.
H. The Medic One/Emergency Medical Services 2014-2019 Strategic Plan outlines how the region will execute the operational and financial recommendations that the emergency medical services advisory task force endorsed on July 26, 2012. It is the primary policy and financial document that directs the emergency medical services network into the future.
I. The policies embedded within the Medic One/Emergency Medical Services 2014-2019 Strategic Plan ensure that the emergency medical services system in King County: remains an adequately funded, regional tiered system; reflects the existing successful medical model; and continues to provide state of the art science-based strategies, programs and leadership.
SECTION 2. The council hereby accepts and approves the Medic One/Emergency Medical Services 2014-2019 Strategic Plan, dated January 2013, which is Attachment A to this ordinance. The recommendations contained in the Medic One/Emergency Medical Services 2014-2019 Strategic Plan shall inform and update the provision of emergency medical services in King County during the aforementioned time period.