National
Emergency Medical
Services Week
May 21- 27
The Future of Western Lane Ambulance District
The board of directors of Western Lane
Ambulance District considers our District to have
one of the finest emergency medical response
teams anywhere. We intend to keep it that way as
we continue strive to deliver our high standard
of care in a timely manner to the people of our
district.
Our District faces several challenges as our call
volume continues to increase while our population
both grows and ages. Last year we exceeded 3,400
calls, a volume that was more than twice the call
volume we had in the late 1990’s. At the same
time we face ever declining reimbursements from
insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. This coupled
with our low tax base makes it very important
that we work to get the most from the resources
we have.
We must continue to operate efficiently and
effectively. One way we do this is by hiring and
retaining quality employees, those that know their
jobs, and know the area. Another option we are
exploring is to look for ways to work with other
agencies to better utilize the combined resources
the taxpayers have provided. To that end, in 2016
the Ambulance District began a partnership with
Siuslaw Valley Fire
and Rescue where,
though contract, or
Intergovernmental
Agreement,
we
have
combined
the administrative
oversight of both.
While this appears
to be providing some
initial cost savings
to both districts, the
long term benefits
to the community,
including improved
efficiency, coordination and communication may
well exceed our expectations.
Regardless of the challenges we face, it is the
mission of Western Lane Ambulance District
to continue to “provide professional emergency
services, transport, and community education
with the highest standards of excellence”
Sincerely,
Mike Webb, Board President
Western Lane Ambulance District
Working Together For Our Community
Thank you for taking the
time to learn more about
Western Lane Ambulance
District (WLAD). Our
Ambulance District is
committed to providing
the highest level of patient
care possible while still
ensuring that we are
fiscally
responsible.
We accomplish this by
training our personnel to
the highest possible standards and by partnering
with other organizations in our community. For
instance, we are active members of the West
Lane Emergency Operations Group (WLEOG)
which is responsible for planning and preparing
for disasters in our community. We are also in
the process of partnering with Peace Health to
begin the first Community Paramedic program
in Lane County, and we have partnered with
Siuslaw Valley Fire & Rescue (SVFR) to share
administrative services.
The sharing of administrative services with SVFR
helps us do more with less and enables us to apply
financial resources where it’s needed. Over the
past five years, call volume for our District has
increased substantially, and the number of times
we need to transport patients out of our area has
more than tripled. The increase in call volume
and longer transports mean more wear and tear
on our ambulances and the need for more full-
time staff. These factors result in greater costs to
the District.
Our agreement with SVFR only combines the
administrative teams of both organizations, and
it is not intended to combine or interfere with the
operational services of either District. Our goal is
to make sure we continue to deliver the high level
of service you have come to expect and ensure
that our District is ready for the future. If you
would like more information about the agreement
between WLAD and SVFR, go to our website at
https://www.westernlaneambulance.com where
you can find a copy of the Inter-Governmental
Agreement and the Implementation Plan. Thank
you again for taking the time to learn about our
District.
A note from the Operations Manager
Winner of 7 State of Oregon
Awards for Outstanding
Service and Excellence.
e
t
u
l
a
S t o
“To provide quick, efficient, professional
emergency medical services, transport, and
community education with the highest standards
of excellence.” This has been Western Lane
Ambulance District’s Mission statement for the
past four decades. Realizing that we will never be
perfect, it is the pursuit of perfection that drives
our organization to excellence.
I’d like to take this opportunity to update the
citizens of our District in how we strive for that
excellence. Currently, we have 15 full-time Medics
to provide care. Of those 15 employees, 8 are
critical care trained to give an even higher level of
care versus the standard certified Medics. Critical
Care Paramedics are trained in hemodynamic
monitoring, ventilator management, expanded IV
medication infusions, as well as more education
on human pathophysiology. The dedication
and training that goes into this is an immense
undertaking. The employees demonstrate this
dedication daily – they truly want the best for
their patients and work hard behind the scenes to
pursue that perfection.
To further our patient care, the District has always
strived to have the best medical equipment and
ambulances available. We have been fortunate
enough to add two new ambulances – one as a
primary unit, and one for hospital transfers. To
date, our fleet consists of two transfer ambulances,
three fully-equipped first out ambulances, and a
Rescue vehicle for sand dune patient extrications.
Currently, Western Lane Ambulance District and
Siuslaw Valley Fire are approaching the end of the
first year of our inter-governmental agreement
(IGA). The IGA adopted by both Boards in July
of 2016 has been challenging of which these
challenges were anticipated. It is a concept that
other agencies have done, some successfully and
others not. The management team continues to
address issues that arise. We strive to correct and
improve that working relationship. Although we
have experienced some difficulties in this IGA,
there have been no setbacks in our level of service.
Moving forward, I only see operations between
the two improving. We have been able to rebuild
relationships, and build our agencies together
for the common goal of our communities’
stakeholders. The management team continually
evaluates
the
IGA to ensure we
are meeting the
objectives
and
planning for future
objectives.
WLAD has been
very fortunate to
have long tenured
Board Members
who understand
the importance
of our mission
statement.
The
WLAD Board is
always supportive of our employees, ensuring
that their needs are met, while remaining diligent
about providing resources. WLAD Board is
always conscientious of the taxpayers, always
keeping financial accountability, oversight, and
long term planning for the District. As I approach
20 years with WLAD, it is a source of pride that
our Board supports our staff, and ensuring the
tools are in place in pursuit of perfection.
Our Public Education and Public Information
programs will be rolling out new projects and
new materials for the next year. This is exciting for
me as we have always tried to demonstrate what
services we provide to our stakeholders.
Also, I want to address the Mobile Integrate
Health Program (Community Paramedic). In
conjunction with PeaceHealth, we are anticipating
this program to start in the fiscal year of 2017-
2018. Funding is nearly complete on securing
appropriate financing for this position, a two-year
pilot program with the goal of making a mainstay
of care for our residents.
With my recent promotion into the Operations
Manager position, my goal has only strengthened
in providing the best EMS service for our
community members. I’m not only envisioning us
meeting our mission statement to the community,
I see us continuing that pursuit of perfection in all
levels of Western Lane Ambulance District.
Sincerely,
Matt House
Western Lane Ambulance District
Operations Manager
Letter from Matt Danigelis, MD
I have been an emergency physician in Flor-
ence since 2003. Working in the emergency de-
partment, I have had numerous opportunities to
observe the EMTs and paramedics of Western
Lane Ambulance District. These providers have
consistently demonstrated competence, effi -
ciency, and a caring empathetic approach. These
qualities have been very effective in alleviating
much of the anxiety and concerns that patients
under their care often have.
In 2008, I became the
medical director of WLAD.
In this role, I have witnessed
the dedication of the ambu-
lance crew, whether in main-
taining quality assurance/
quality improvement mea-
sures, community education,
or in pursuing a higher lever
of training. Florence has a
large retirement community
and, as such, its residents often have a medical
complexity that belies the small size of the town.
Many of the patients served by the district are
critically ill and will eventually require transfer
to a facility with more specialty services. Several
of the paramedics at WLAD have become critical
care certifi ed. This certifi cation requires intensive
training in the evaluation and treatment of the
most seriously ill patients. Having paramedics
with these skills has been invalu-
able in best serving the needs of
the district.
Western Lane Ambulance
District has a knowledgeable,
committed, and compassionate
group of EMTs and paramedics. It
has been my honor and privilege
to serve as their medical director.
Sincerely,
Matt Danigelis, MD