Albuquerque fire officials are at odds with some city councilors about how best to deploy paramedics and the disagreement will likely spill into public view during Monday’s City Council meeting
Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) recently announced new changes it says will mean better service and faster responses in high demand areas. Paramedics will be shifted from ambulances to fire engines in some parts of the city.
Jimmy Melek, deputy chief of field operations at AFR, said in a letter to residents that the move expands paramedic coverage across those areas. In a pilot program rolled out in 2021, each ambulance is staffed with a paramedic and an Emergency Medical Technician known as an “EMT-basic” in fire-service parlance.
Melek said the change has effectively doubled the department’s paramedic response capability in some areas.
“This change has proven to be safe and effective in the delivery of quality clinical care, and most importantly, means you will receive a faster response from a paramedic when you need it most,” he wrote.
Councilors Joaquín Baca and Dan Lewis however have introduced legislation that would establish the standard of two paramedics per ambulance as the city’s minimum.
Baca told CityDesk ABQ he’s pushing the legislation at the request of the firefighters’ union and firefighters he has spoken with.
He said Fire Chief Emily Jaramillo has repeatedly told the City Council that the two-paramedic standard was nationally recognized.
The bill would allow staffing levels to be altered during emergencies or otherwise urgent matters and declares more emergency vehicles will be added as the city’s population and AFR’s call volume increase.
The bill says doubling up on paramedics provides a higher standard of care by reducing treatment delays, improving patient monitoring and enhancing on-scene decision making.
After the legislation appeared on the council agenda, Jaramillo issued a statement critical of the timing of the action. In the statement, she says she was not consulted regarding the proposed council resolution and that passage will hurt response times and reverse the expanded coverage of paramedics.
“Cutting back on paramedic coverage would lead to longer response times for people who need advanced care,” Jaramillo said. “As the fire chief, it’s my responsibility to make these critical life saving decisions, not politicians’. I have significant concerns that this proposed resolution could have a negative impact on public safety and impede our ability to expand advanced life support coverage in the neighborhoods that need it most.”
The statement goes on to say AFR follows national best practices and analyzes local trends to ensure the strongest response possible.
“Proposals that impact public safety response should not be made without a sound understanding of the EMS system, including staffing, training, recruitment and retention,” Jaramillo said.
Baca said he had “no answer” to the question of whether the city should expand its paramedic recruiting efforts.