The Peoria Fire-Medical Department has completed phase 2 of its ambulance program and recently added its fifth city-owned ambulance to the system at Station 194, 9800 W. Olive Ave.
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Peoria fire-medical ambulance system on stride, nearly 14K transports since 2017
Posted
A few things to know about emergency medical transportation
--When you dial 911 for a medical emergency, the closest available fire truck responds, regardless of what city it represents.
--Emergency medical care is provided by Peoria Fire-Medical Paramedics and EMTs.
--In Peoria, if emergency medical transport is necessary, you may receive a Peoria fire-medical ambulance or an ambulance operated by a private company.
--Currently the city of Peoria contracts with American Medical Response for additional ambulance response. The closest available ambulance is dispatched for medical emergencies.
--Peoria Fire-Medical does not charge city residents for its fire or emergency medical response. However, there is a charge for emergency medical transportation.
--Most insurance companies typically cover the charges for emergency medical transportation.
--Individuals who do not have insurance, or whose insurance company does not cover the complete charge, will be billed directly by either the Peoria Fire-Medical department or the private ambulance company. No one will ever be denied medical care regardless of insurance coverage or their ability to pay.
Source: City of Peoria
Billing rates
Here are the current ambulance service rates for Peoria fire-medical. These rates are set and regulated by the Arizona Department of Health Services, Bureau of EMS and Trauma Services. For more information, go to The Arizona Department of Health Services websiteazdhs.gov/preparedness/emergency-medical-services-trauma-system/index.php
Advanced Life Support: $965.67
Basic Life Support: $860.19
Mileage Charge: $ 20.02/mile
Standby Waiting: $ 215.04
Separate Charge for Disposable Supplies: As needed
The Peoria Fire-Medical Department has completed phase 2 of its ambulance program and recently added its fifth city-owned ambulance to the system at Station 194, 9800 W. Olive Ave.
The department launched its Peoria-based ambulance program in January 2017, with its first two ambulances at Station 193 and Station 195.
The city now has its own ambulances online at five of the city’s eight fire stations.
The city continues to contract with American Medical Response to provide ambulance services as needed. When the city receives a 911 call, the closest available ambulance is dispatched for medical emergencies.
Deputy Chief Jim Bratcher said that since the inception of the system through December 2019, calls have gone up with nearly 14,000 transports completed.
The program is meeting the city’s expectations and will grow based on the needs of the city, with no definitive timeline to complete, he said.
“As such, we continue to monitor calls for service and response times in an effort to provide superior customer service and response times in the most cost effective way possible,” he said. “The program is dynamic and may be expanded as calls for service and community needs increase.”
After the initial two ambulances, individual ambulances were added to Station 191 and Station 192 in May 2019.
Mr. Bratcher said the city implemented in-house billing in November 2018, and since then 7,073 transports have been billed, which has increased efficiency and customer service, as well as decrease aged accounts receivables.
“In-house billing has allowed us to be able to talk directly to the customer and explain the process,” he said. “Moving it in-house we feel has been a success both from the fiscal side and also in support of customer service and efficiency.”
Easing the transition into a full-service ambulance program, the department is aided by its Low Acuity Unit, which is staffed with one paramedic and one EMT, who respond to non-threating, non-injury or assistance calls.
Chief Bratcher said the unit is capable of providing initial advanced care for patients who need it right away and then can be supported with additional resources later.
The unit operates out of Station 192, at 18500 N. 89th Ave.
“We developed this unit for basic life support calls, low acuity calls, in areas where we see a high call volume, specifically at station 192,” he said. “Sometimes the patient will need a higher level of care and we can also deliver that with the low acuity unit until we get additional resources to the scene.”
The fire-medical department also offers community paramedicine, a proactive program that focuses on the needs of those who frequently use the 911 system for non-emergency situations, which can burden Emergency Medical Services workers and health systems.
Paramedicine focuses on trying to find the root cause of why patients are calling 911 and provide resources they need, he said.
“The program is designed to provide resources to those individuals to improve overall health and decrease the reliance on the 911 system. To that end, the community paramedicine program may decrease the calls for service and subsequent ambulance transports,” Chief Bratcher said.
The paramedicine grant is funded by United Health Care and is for a period of one year, ending in the fall. The grant is regional, with the cities of Peoria, Surprise and Goodyear working collaboratively.
Future funding has not yet been secured, he said.
“We continue to have discussions with various entities to define cost and develop sustainment funding,” Chief Bratcher said.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts.
He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing.
Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards.
In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
By 
